Inflation falls, lower interest rates to follow
Civil Servants call for reintroduction of
Cap 30 Pension scheme
Two new prison camps to be built
La youth hold Akomea ‘hostage’
Plight
of GHACEM - a case of killing local industries
Inflation falls, lower interest rates to follow
Accra
(Greater Accra) 19 April 2002 - For a country that has suffered stunted growth
as a result of being fed for years by a succession of governments on a
malnourished diet of hyperinflation, usually the best indicator of the state of
the economy is to be found in the increasing pressures on prices of goods and
in the corresponding value of money.
Figures
released on Thursday by the Statistical Service shows that the underlying
inflation fell from 21.3 per cent in December 2001 to a record 16 per cent low,
the lowest rate since March 2002. The figures stood at 41.9 this time last
year. Going by the steep descent in inflation in this first quarter, Finance
Minister Yaw Osafo Marfo's target rate of 13 per cent at the end of the year
appears quite conservative.
But,
detractors like Kwesi Pratt Jnr. the left wing militant publisher of The
Insight might argue: what does that mean when people's pockets are still
empty'? The answer to that may be found, among other abnormalities of the
period, in the 49.5 per cent depreciation the cedi suffered to the US dollar in
2000, the economic effects of which the Ghanaian has been bearing since.
"This
government inherited an extremely bad economy, with the rate of inflation as
high as 40.9 per cent in January 2001. That, within 15 months we have been able
to reduce it to 16 per cent is itself a testimony to the efficient and prudent
management of the economy we have introduced," says Ferdinand Ayim, the
Special Assistant to the Minister for Information and Presidential Affairs.
The
consistent drop in the rate of inflation means that interest rates, which had
fallen from around 49 per cent in 2000, to 28% in December 2001, will fall
further. Thus, a further lowering in bank's lending rates, giving business the
boost and incentive to
borrow more
at affordable rates. An Investment Banker, Nana Asante Bediatuo, said the low
inflation rate will push down interest rate and encourage people to invest in
the economy.
The Bank of
Ghana (BOG) is expected to reduce its prime rate, or benchmark funds target
rate on overnight loans among banks in response. The prime rate now stands at
24.5 per cent. Base rate of commercial banks dropped accordingly from an
average of 35 per cent to as low as the 27 per cent offered by Agricultural
Development Bank.
A source at
the central bank told the Statesman that there is little threat from inflation,
giving the BOG the luxury of lowering interest rates further. In the long run,
the source said, the odds are that the economy will grow gradually pushing
unemployment back down and allowing companies to rebuild their depressed profit
margins.
But a
leading industrialist told the Statesman the economy faces a number of risks in
the short run. Among them is the possibility of an economic stall if business
that had been whittling their inventories of unsold goods last year stop
rebuilding their supplies in warehouse and stores.
The Statesman
also spoke to a financial analyst at the country's leading bank, Ghana
Commercial Bank, who cited the risk of higher oil prices and signs that
consumer spending could be held back by the suppression of salary levels. When
the paper suggested that salaries of public sector workers are expected to rise
the source responded, "the economic picture should become much clearer
over the next two to six months."
Remarkably,
Osafo Marfo has managed what Alan Greenspan, the Federal Reserve Chairman
admitted to a Congressional committee this week for not being able to achieve
this year, which is to keep the current accommodative stance of monetary policy
consistent with maintaining price stability.
The
Consumer Price Index for March 2002 recorded a rise of 16 per cent over the
index of March 2001, which was 204.40. The figure also represents a 2.1 per
cent rise from February 2002's figures. The food and Beverages sub-group even
showed a higher month-on rise of 3.1 per cent, indicating that people are
spending more on goods and services and that consumer confidences is, indeed,
picking up.
Prospects
for further drop in the rate of inflation and inflation expectation in the
period ahead mean that the government and BOG have ample opportunity to adjust
policy, whenever necessary, to keep inflation pressures contained, and interest
rates lower, once sustained economic expansion is in clear view.
It is
apparent that some of the forces that have weighed heavily on the economy over
the past year or so have begun to disappear. But, as Alan Greenspan noticed in
far away USA, "other factors, such as the sharp increase in world oil
prices, have risen that pose new challenges." - The Statesman.
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Civil Servants call for reintroduction of
Cap 30 Pension scheme
Accra (Greater Accra) 19 April 2002 - The Civil Servants
Association of Ghana (CSAG) has called on the government to, as a matter of
urgency, re-introduce the CAP 30 Pension Scheme. This, they contended, will
erase the distortions and discrimination associated with the implementation of
other pension schemes in favour of certain categories of workers in the
country.
The Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the association, Mr James Amissah, made
the call when he addressed the regional and district members of the association
in Accra on Thursday. The meeting was to afford the regional executive the
opportunity to brief its members on the 9th Quadrennial National Delegates
Conference of the association held in Sekondi-Takoradi from 25 February to 2
March 2002.
He said the SSNIT Pension Scheme cannot be said to be national in character
because some workers, including the security services, are not members and said
its imposition on a section of workers is an infringement on their human
rights. “The SSNIT pension cannot save any civil servant who goes on pension
because of the meagre salaries of civil servants,” he said.
He, therefore, called on the government to facilitate the establishment of
other pension schemes. He said this will bring about competition, as well as
break the monopoly of the SSNIT Pension Scheme. He said workers cannot sit down
unconcerned as politicians and other category of workers retire with attractive
end-of-service benefits and enjoy CAP 30. Mr Amissah called on the government
to restore the transport, lunch, rent and leave allowances of civil servants
which were not consolidated.
He called on members to be united in the fight for realistic wages and salaries
for work of equal value. “Trade Unions can only be respected if it is able to
defend and show potency in the struggle against bad government policies”, he
said. Mr Amissah expressed the hope that the introduction of the National
Health Insurance Scheme to replace the “cash and carry” system will not become
detrimental to the worker.
The regional chairman said the executive members of the association have issued
an action plan to guide the activities of its members. He said the continuous
survival of the association will require scientific and radical approaches to
win back the confidence of its members.
He said it is important to examine critically the structures of the association
in order to remove the biases and barriers, which do not stimulate growth and
participation of members. He said plans are underway to set up a cooperative
shop, which will make available soft loans to members to take care of their
personal commitments. – Daily Graphic.
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Over two hundred and sixty thousand sit
basic school examination from Monday
Accra (Greater Accra) 19 April 2002 - A total of 264,956 candidates will on 22 April 2002 begin writing this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). The candidates are made up of 144,997 boys and 119,956 girls from 6,795 schools.
The examination, which ends on 26 April 2002, will be held at 958 centres throughout the country and will be manned by 833 supervisors and 9,300 invigilators. A press release issued by the Ministry of Education and signed by Miss Christine Churcher, the Minister of State in-charge of Primary, Secondary and Girl-child Education and titled “A word of encouragement a need for caution” drew attention to the significance of the BECE in the education reform programme.
It also said that the BECE results decide which of the graduands pursue courses such as Science, Vocational, Technical, Business, General Arts, Home Economics at the secondary school level. The release said the extent of preparation the children are put through is, therefore, a very important factor and said, “I wish to earnestly appeal to the major stakeholders – parents/guardians, teachers and the children – to make it their focus to sail through the BECE with flying colours.”
“For me, no child, however, deprived or handicapped, is useless and incapable of unearthing his/her talent, if given the right motivation and attention,” the release said. It also appealed to parents/guardians to show in all sincerely true parental care and affection to their children billed to take this year’s BECE and “free them from the many domestic chores which tend to deny these children he much needed time to study or revise adequately for the assignment before the examination.”
The release regretted that in many homes, examination candidates are subjected to long hours of hawking in the night and energy-sapping chores, which leave them tired the next day and urged for those chores to be minimised between now and the duration of the BECE.
“To our hardworking teachers, the joy of embracing successful students should serve as a morale-booster to goad us on to put in the extra effort to help these children with their studies. No monetary reward can compensate a teacher better than a sincere, “Thank You” from a successful student,” it said.
To the examination candidates, the release said, “I wish to remind you that it is through hard-work and faith in God that successful men and women hold high and responsible positions today.”
“Spend your time on your books and studies, hold small study groups, be prayerful. Do not fall victim to conmen or opportunities who have nothing to offer you”, it said. “We have all passed through this stage of life. Hard-work, commitment and the desire and will power to succeed as responsible adults saw us through. You will also make it,” the release added. – Daily Graphic.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 19 April 2002 - The Deputy Chairman of
Electoral Commission in-charge of Finance and Administration, Mr David A.
Kangah has called for adequate training for electoral observers and monitors to
ensure that they are conversant with the electoral process.
This, he said, will enable them to contribute constructively to the resolution
of pre- and post-election conflicts. Mr Kangah made the call in a speech read
on his behalf at a day’s workshop organised by the Employment and Development
Corps, a local NGO, for its members in Accra on Thursday.
The workshop had a theme, “Leadership and Governance”, and was aimed at
equipping the members of the organisation to actively participate in the
forthcoming district assembly elections and future polls, as observers and
monitors.
Mr Kanga said election observers must be professional and non-partisan in the
discharge of their duties, adding that, “their attitudes and pronouncements can
calm or escalate the prevailing political climate”.
He urged the electoral observers to demonstrate a high sense of transparency
and objectivity in their observation and report writing by avoiding unverified
and unsubstantiated allegations of irregularities. He commended the executive
members of the organisation for their foresight in organising the programme,
which he said will go a long way to complement the commission’s efforts at
ensuring free and fair elections in the country.
In his opening remarks, the Executive Director of Employment and Development
Corps, Mr Henry Gidi, said the NGO has the objective of creating employment in
the country but added that this laudable idea cannot be realised in a hostile
socio-economic and political environment.
He said it is against this backdrop that it organised the workshop to equip its
members to be abreast of the electoral process and help to sustain the
country’s fledgling democracy and rule of law. “It is one of our objectives to
participate in conflict resolution, and the conduct of elections, which we
think are critical for the sustainability of good governance,” he stressed.
Mr Gidi said the organisation has the vision to become a leading NGO in the
creation of employment and the development of deprived communities through the
establishment of cottage industries. The workshop was attended by 60
participants from the 10 regions of the country. – Daily Graphic.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 19 April 2002 - The Government has
given approval for the construction of two new prison camps at Forifori in the
Afram Plains in the Eastern Region and Akwasiase in the Ahafo Ano District of
the Ashanti Region. It is projected that more prison camps will be developed
subsequently in order to decongest the walled prisons.
Mr Richard Kuuire, the Director General of the Ghana Prisons Service, announced
this at the opening of this year’s Regional Commanders Conference in Accra on
Thursday. He said the main focus of the service for this year will be to
accelerate progress in agricultural products and vocational training for
prisoners. To this end, he reminded the officers that all existing rules and
regulations, especially with regard to accountability for resources allocated
to agriculture and industry, will be strictly enforced.
Mr Kuuire expressed grave concern about acts of indiscipline and unethical
behaviour on the part of some officers who, for instance, engage in negative
practices such as trafficking drugs with inmates and leaving prisoners
unescorted. He warned that such negative tendencies will not be tolerated and
urged all regional commanders to adopt firm measures within their areas of
jurisdiction to address these problems which tend to put the service into
disrepute.
The Director General said as part of activities to improve the service, all
regional commanders will be detached from the command of prisons as is the case
with sister services such as the Police, Immigration and the Fire Service.
This measure is to enhance efficient service delivery and also enable regional
commanders to effectively supervise all prisons in their regions. Mr Kuuire
said although the service has chalked up some successes, there are still a
number of operational difficulties facing it, adding that, “funding for the
service’s activities is still woefully inadequate.”
The Deputy Minister of the Interior, Mr Kwadwo Affram Asiedu, assured the
officers that the government is fully aware of the constraints facing the
service and will address them along with the problems of other agencies under
the ministry. He commended the director-general and his officers for their
hard-work and dedication and assured them of the ministry’s support towards the
realisation of their objectives. – Daily Graphic.
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Vanef-STC contracts up for grabs
Accra
(Greater Accra) 19 April 2002 - The ownership issue of the former State
Transport Company has been finally put to rest with the assertion from the
Social Security and National Insurance Trust that the management contract it
entered into with James Owusu Bonsu, Managing Director of Vanef Consortium for
the day-to-day running of the fleet of buses and bulk haulage firm, would
expire at the end of May, this year.
The
two-year contract between Vanef Consortium, owners of Vanef-STC and James Owusu
Bonsu, head of the management team took effect on 1 June 2000 and expires on 31
May 2002. The Public Affairs Director of SSNIT, Osei Bimpong told Weekend
Agenda that the board of SSNIT, which owns 92.5 per cent of Vanef-STC, would
take a decision next month whether or not to renew the contract.
Officials
of both SSNIT and Vanef are cagey on the performance of Vanef-STC under the
leadership of Owusu Bonsu but Agenda sources in the former state-run transport
company hint of pre-tax profit of nearly ˘13bn most of which has gone to
service debt, outstanding from the era of the State Transport Company.
This
impressive performance notwithstanding, Weekend Agenda has gathered that the
bid for management of Vanef-STC at the end of May will no longer be a one-horse
race because some management groups have showed interest to compete for the
contract to manage the company.
One of the
sticky issues to be tackled when the SSNIT board meets to decide on the fate of
the current management of Vanef-STC would be the removal of the acronym ‘Vanef’
from the corporate name of the transport company. Vanef is derived from
Vanessa, Emmanuel and Francis- the names of the three children of James Owusu
Bonsu, Managing Director of Vanef-STC.
Weekend
Agenda investigations have revealed that the name Vanef-STC was inscribed on
the buses because at the time SSNIT acquired the company, the Vanef Consortium,
which originally bid to buy the State Transport Company had already registered
the company as Vanef-STC.
A member of
the management team of SSNIT who spoke on condition of anonymity assured the
public that SSNIT would take the necessary steps to ensure the removal of the
name ‘Vanef’ from the fleet of buses. The company is likely to be called STC
Company.
Asked why
SSNIT contracted the Vanef Consortium to manage the company, the source
explained that the agreement between Vanef and SSNIT was not an isolated case.
He said SSNIT has several investments across the country but is not directly
involved in their management. “What we plan to do is to appoint competent and
trusted personnel to key positions such as director of finance. The current
director of finance of Vanef-STC was appointed by SSNIT. So there is no cause
for alarm,” the source said.
Meanwhile,
Chris Wolsen, a financial analyst has praised SSNIT for the debt-equity
swapping it struck with the Divestiture Implementation Committee. In a letter
to Public Agenda published in the 15-21 April edition, Wolsen said: “It is a
prudent investment which should be managed well, so that the loans that were
guaranteed are paid off.”
Wolsen said
once the SSNIT Board has ratified the transaction, the issue should be laid to
rest. “I am of the view that the decision to sign a management agreement with
the resent managing director of Vanef-STC was also a good decision. What is
important is that SSNIT should ensure that it controls the board and prudent
management policies are implemented to keep the company afloat, Wolsen said. –
Weekend Agenda.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 19 April 2002 - The Minority National Democratic Congress (NDC)
in Parliament is assessing the membership of the National Reconciliation
Commission (NRC) and will make its position in due course. Mr John Mahama, the
NDC MP for Bole and Minority Spokesperson on Communications, disclosed this in
an interview with The Evening News in Accra on Thursday.
The Evening
News had sought to find out the Minority’s position on progress made so far by
government to get the NRC to begin its hearings. Mr Mahama said members of the
Minority had already held initial discussions on the issue and would state
their position at the appropriate time.
He said the
Minority rejected the period set by the government for the NRC to investigate
alleged human rights abuses since it did not extend to the period of
independence. Again, Mr Mahama said even though the majority NDC agreed at a
Caucus meeting that personalities to be nominated to the NRC by the President
in consultation with the Council of State would be vetted by Parliament, the
majority later reneged on that pledge.
He wondered
how a nation could be reconciled to promote peace and unity if the views of the
minority are disregarded on crucial national issues. The NRC, which is being
set up under the National Reconciliation Act 2002 (Act 611) will work for an
initial period of one year with a possible extension of six months. – The
Evening News.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 19 April 2002 - Some members of the La Youth Association on Thursday prevented the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Nana Akomea, from leaving the premises of the La Traditional Council by blocking the entrance.
The youth, clad in red cloths suspected the traditional council of signing an agreement with the Ministry on how the La Beach should be managed. Following the one-hour blockade, the Minister who had gone to the council’s premises to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the traditional council, had to call a meeting with the executives of the association to discuss the management of the beach.
Nana Akomea told the youth that the MOU was not signed due to some issues. He said that there was nothing fishy about the MOU and assured the youth that they would not sign an agreement that was not in their interest. He pointed out that the presence of the press was an indication that nothing would be hidden from them. Nana Akomea informed the executives of a proposed meeting with them at 12-noon on Friday to discuss how the beach would be managed. – The Ghanaian Times.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 19 April 2002 - An Accra circuit tribunal judge is on her third
day of inquiry into allegations of bribe-taking following submitted petitions
of bribery and perversion of justice.
Mrs
Elizabeth Anderson-Yebuah, noted for passing a string of bad judgements and
unsafe convictions which have been tumbling on appeal, is currently
experiencing a role-reversal of being stared down by another judge appointed as
a sole commissioner to look into allegation that she took ˘80 million in an
attempted murder case that she was sitting on.
The
Chronicle learnt that one of the parties on the case bragged during the trial
that he would never be sent to jail but only get a fine. Whether by
coincidence, happenstance, or influence peddling he got exactly that judgement
in the case which involved a land. The way the case was handled, how it
progressed plus the nature of the judgement provoked one of the parties in the
case to lodge a formal complaint to the Chief Justice’s (CJ) office, which has
made ridding corruption in the judiciary objective of the office.
Even before
he was confirmed as CJ, Mr Justice E.K. Wiredu had invited members of the
public who had any evidence against judges to forward such complaints to his
office. By lunchtime on Wednesday, this week when Chronicle visited the circuit
tribunal office of the judge who gained prominence when she threw Mr and Mrs
Djentuh, parents of Sellasie, into prison (boyfriend of former First Daughter
Ezenator Rawlings), her office appeared to be deserted.
Court
sources told Chronicle investigators that they had noticed movement as if she
was packing off and leaving her office. It was subsequently gathered that she
was already on a transfer list, bound for Ho. Her transfer had been delayed due
to the fact that her official bungalow in Ho had not been fully renovated. She
had already been put on notice by the Judicial Service not to take on any new
cases but dispose of her part heard cases, numbering about 11 before proceeding
to Ho.
Trips from
one of many people who had filed complaints led to the discovery that Mrs
Anderson-Yebuah was already facing questioning before retired judge Justice
Owusu Sekyere as sole commissioner. She was being represented by counsel. The
complaint had been filed by one Faithful Atsu. Two of the judge’s clerks, Vida
and Stella, had also been ordered to appear before the commissioner and had
actually put in appearance.
According
to one lawyer familiar with the case Mrs Anderson-Yebuah had denied the bribery
charge even before she appeared before the retired judge. Two witnesses who had
come to testify Inquiries at the Judicial Service headed by Mr Aryeetey
confirmed that an inquiry had indeed begun but is still ongoing.
Among a
number of judgement that had been overturned on appeal, the most celebrated was
the one involving the Djentuhs, where she was severely criticised. The other
one involved the very controversial Bishop of Christ Apostolic Church,
Augustine Annor-Yeboah, where the Regional tribunal attacked the judgement and
overturned her judgement and ordered that a pastor at the Tema Community 4
branch of CAC be acquitted and discharged from a four-year prison sentence
which Annor-Yeboah had testified as the principal prosecution witness.
Another
petition before the CJ’s office involving Mrs Anderson-Yebuah involves her
handling a case involving Lady Tamara and a case of stealing of a wrist watch
belonging to her ex-boyfriend, a Lebanese businessman. – The Chronicle.
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Sunyani
(Brong Ahafo Region) 19 April 2002 - A raging war of words between two leading
members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Brong Ahafo Region is
threatening the cohesion of the party in the region. The Regional Chairman,
Alhaji Kwadwo Mahama Adam, and a leading member of the NDC, Prince Atta Kruffi,
are locked up in a fierce media battle with no end in sight.
The row was
provoked by Prince Atta Kruffi who fired a salvo at the Regional Chairman after
the latter had held a meeting with cadres on the dissolved National
Mobilisation Programme (NMP). A source close to The Statesman said Mahama Adam,
has allegedly expressed solidarity with the dismissed workers and promised that
the party would take up their case.
Prince Atta
Kruffi, described as a key member of the NDC in the Brong Ahafo Region, reacted
to the said meeting and cautioned the Regional Chairman to “shut up and leave
the ex-members of the dissolved NMP to fight their own battle.” His argument
was premised on the fact that any direct involvement of the NDC in the affairs
of the former workers of the NMP would give a different meaning that it was a
wing of the NDC. Alhaji Mahama Adam who described Prince Atta Kruffi’s
statement as “mischievous”, warned him not to pass comments on subjects that he
was ignorant of.
With the
media war coming close to the national congress of the NDC on 26 April in
Accra, the rest of the NDC functionaries in the region are now jittery. The
Statesman has learnt that several crisis meetings have been held in the past
few days whilst the two protagonists in the feud have been slapped with a
ceasefire fiat.
Meanwhile,
comments made by Prince Atta Kruffi are said to have drawn the ire of the
cadres who feel slighted and insulted by his utterances. In a related
development, the choice of delegates for the two Sunyani constituencies for the
upcoming NDC congress has also come under attack. – The Statesman.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 19 April 2002 - A senior doctor at the Korle-Bu Teaching
Hospital has warned the public on the need to be conscious of how they use
public payphones, as they could easily get themselves infected with air-borne
diseases.
According
to him, respiratory and air-borne diseases, such as pneumonia, throat, chest
and nasal infections, could be easily transferred from one person to another
through the use of public telephone handsets, which he said, most at times are
not disinfected regularly.
This was
revealed to Chronicle in an interview with the head of Ear, Nose and Throat
(ENT) Department, Dr Danso Adams, while dilating on the issue. Dr Adams said
the issue should be treated as a serious public health problem since it affects
every citizen in the country. Lamenting that, “most people who use these payphones
are even not aware of the danger it poses to their health and, to me, that
complicates the issue at stake.”
Chronicle
further gathered that most of the payphones are used over a long period without
their being cleaned and those located at remote and dusty areas cannot be
reached to be given proper supervision and maintenance. Continuing, Dr Adams
note that one person could speak for a long time on one payphone and in the
process spill saliva and would hang up for another person to use the same phone
without cleaning the handset.
This
process, he said, results in accumulation of germs on the handset that could
easily be passed on to another person through inhalation as one speaks and
takes in deep breath. Continuing, Mr Kpetigo revealed that Ghana Telecom was
mapping out a strategy which would ensure that payphones that had been
scattered across the city centres and localities would be installed at one
major point where there are full of activities so that proper supervision
maintenance would be given to them daily.
For this
strategy to be successful, Mr Kpetigo warned that, “people should be very
mindful about how they use the payphones, asserting that some unscrupulous
people insert all sorts of objects into the machines in a bid to minimise the use
of their units on the telephone cards.
Mentioning
coins, blades and cigarette foils as some of the objects used to manipulate
these machines, he lamented that the company loses millions of cedis in
replacing parts that have been tampered with, adding that “parts are even very
difficult to obtain and has to be imported from outside countries. He,
therefore, called on customers and the public to refrain from such acts of
cheating expressing the hope that in due course more payphone machines would be
installed to meet the increasing demands of the public. – The Ghanaian
Chronicle.
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Accra (Greater
Accra) 19 April 2002 - GHACEM Limited, the only cement manufacturing company in
the country, has for years stood with the country through thick and thin, in
crisis and in stability. The company could be said to have been the backbone
for Ghana’s reconstruction since its emergence on the Ghanaian market.
But recent
events on the local cement market gives clear indications that the company
would have to take some drastic measures or it would join the local
manufacturing companies who have gone down the drain. Whiles GHACEM’s only
competitor, WACEM enjoy tax exemptions operating in the country, the latter is
expected, apart from honouring its taxes to the IRS, to also pay effective last
month, a five per cent Import Duty on all its raw materials.
Many observers
think the government is killing local manufacturing companies with the
imposition of some taxes. Whiles WACEM is given a tax holiday to encourage its
bringing of the Togo-manufactured cement onto the Ghanaian market, GHACEM is
gradually being forced to fold up its operations.
It is a
fact that with all their tax exemptions, WACEM is selling on the Ghanaian
market at about the price as GHACEM who are currently under pressure to pay
Import Duty thereby forcing it to increase its price to the disadvantage of the
Ghanaian builder. The price of cement has shot up sharply after the 2002
budget, shattering the dreams of many Ghanaians who want to acquire their own
houses.
Cement,
which is one of the ingredients in the building industry, has seen a steady
increase in price from ˘7,000 in the early 1990s to ˘35,000 in 2002 on the open
market. Real estate developers, civil and building contractors, and even
ordinary wayside masons, are all crying out for something to be done about the
price of cement since it is collapsing their business.
The present
cost of cement have also contributed to the hike in rents, making it difficult
for low income earners to be able to afford a decent accommodation. Reacting to
the concerns expressed by the general public to the increase in the price of
cement, GHACEM Ltd., leader in the cement business in the country, in statement
issued by its management said, the 2.7 per cent price adjustment of their
product was due to a government imposed five per cent import duty on all imported
raw materials used by the company for the manufacture of cement.
The new
import duty, the statement said, takes retroactive effect from 18 March 2002
and was in fact embodied in the 2002 budget. GHACEM, it is said, has had a
stable price over the years, going up slightly only when the value of the cedi
had depreciated against the dollar because it enjoyed a zero per cent duty on
her raw materials.
The
statement said, Ghana unfortunately is not blessed with the basic raw materials
for the manufacture of cement and therefore any levy imposed on the importation
of clinker, the raw material for cement, would send the price sky high.
“GHACEM’s
utmost policy is to keep cement prices in Ghana at a competitive and affordable
level that is why our price is in fact the second lowest in the West African
sub-region,” the statement added.
The
statement assured the general public that the company is committed to building
the nation and would not want to thwart government’s efforts at helping more
Ghanaians acquire their own houses but in view of the present circumstance,
GHACEM cannot do otherwise since her raw materials are imported and falls
within the five per cent import duty bracket. The new ex-factory price of
GHACEM cement, according to the statement, is ˘31,113 including VAT. – Ghana
Palaver.
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