One Dial to inject $275 million in telecom sector
Sekondi (Western
Region) 09 April 2003- Ghana earned three million dollars from baskets and hats
exported by the Bolgatanga Craft Centre last year.
Salifu Mahami, Upper
East Regional Minister, announced this at the joint-day of the Upper East and
Volta Regions at NAFAC 2002 in Sekondi on Monday. He said the Upper East Region
is among the country's best craft producing areas and has captured large
markets in basketry, leather works and blacksmithing.
Mahami said more
support is required to improve the region's craft production to earn more
foreign exchange for the country and sustain the economy of the region. He said
Ghana Export Promotion Council (GEPC) in collaboration with the Japanese
International Development Cooperation (JIDA) is offering exhibitions and
training programmes for people in craft industry to impart new techniques and
skills to enhance efficiency and productivity.
Mahami said the GEPC
has initiated a straw plantation project at Bongo in the Upper East to produce
raw materials for the industry. Mahami said the GEPC is undertaking a similar
project at Navrongo also in the same region to help weavers to obtain straw all
year round.
He said the Upper
East Regional Coordinating Council (RCC), district assemblies in the region and
other stakeholders intend to institute regional awards programmes to sustain
interest and attract talents to develop arts and culture.
Kofi Dzamesi, Deputy
Volta Regional Minister, said the region has huge deposits of salt along its
coastal belt. He said salt is considered to be white gold for the region and
its production could generate considerable capital for further investment in
allied industries such as soap making and chlorine.
Dzamesi said some
miners have acquired land for salt production through the Minerals Commission
under the President's Special Initiative (PSI) for salt. He said mineral
deposits in the region, which include diamond, iron ore and oil are yet to be
exploited.
Dzamesi said there
are also large clay deposits, which have the potential for the development of
an integrated bricks and tile industry. Cultural groups from the two regions
showcased the potentials of their areas at the function.
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Accra (Greater Accra)
09 April 2003- The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) has reviewed the
criteria for selecting members of the Ghana Club 100, citing implementation
problems. Ghana Club (GC) 100 is a prestigious group of top performing
companies in the country.
Kwesi Abeasi, Chief
Executive, GIPC, told a press briefing on Tuesday that the new criteria would
require all entrants to be limited liability companies with government
shareholdings of below 50 per cent. In addition, companies must have posted
positive cumulative net profit in the recent three years.
Abeasi further
explained that the new criteria would require that the rank of a firm be based
on profitability, turnover, growth rate in turnover and net assets rather than
the previous requirement that dwelt on turnover only, which favoured mostly
large companies.
He said companies would
be ranked on each of the four indicators that would be given equal weight.
"The final rank in the GC 100, would be the weighted average rank obtained
after weighing all the four factors and it is hoped that this will give full
recognition for successful enterprise building, and make it possible for small
but well managed firms to be members of the prestigious club," he said.
Abeasi said the
decision to change the qualifying standard was due to problems and challenges
encountered over the past years of instituting the programme. He mentioned the
prominence of some loss making companies as well as the overwhelming
preponderance of government owned organisations in the top of the rankings as
some of the major challenges.
Abeasi said the new
measures would address the problems and ensure that the club becomes more
relevant and responsive to the needs of the private sector. Advisory boards to
approve rules of eligibility, models for arriving at ranking, approve special
excellence awards and criteria for their determination as well as advise on
ways of making benefits available to the GC 100 members would also be set up,
he said.
"This is to
ensure that the private sector has real ownership of the GC 100 programme and
also make the programme most reliable, authoritative and most consistent annual
publication on the corporate sector in Ghana," he said. He said an initial
registration fee of 500,000 cedis has been dropped and companies could now
register free of charge.
Abeasi urged all
eligible companies to submit their documentation, which must include copies of
the company's audited accounts for 1999-2001, the company's profile, Profile of
the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), a statement by the CEO about the company's
vision and developments for the past years.
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Accra (Greater Accra)
09 April 2003- A Member of the Council of State on Tuesday called for a stable
and uniform legal environment in West Africa to provide investors and financial
institutions with the security needed to accelerate investment in the
Sub-Region.
The Member, Nana Prah
Agyenisam IV said the diverse and complex sets of investment and business laws
and procedures scattered in many provisions, bye-laws, legislative instruments,
conventions and treaties needed urgent attention.
Nana Prah said this
at the opening of a Conference on Harmonization of Investment Laws in West
Africa under the auspices of the Commercial Law Development Section of the US
Department of Commerce.
Participants at the
Conference are to examine a Uniform Investment Law for West Africa and make
recommendations for the consideration of their governments. Nana Prah noted
that the absence of uniformity in investment laws in West Africa had been, and
continued to be, a crucial obstacle to investment and the development and
financing of major projects.
He said investment
capital was scarce adding, "investors do not like uncertainty and will put
their money in countries where there is a stable and transparent regulatory
framework". Nana Prah said investors, like voters, were informed and
discerning and had no motivation to be altruistic.
"They will not
bring their scarce funds into a region which they perceive to have defects in
vital areas such as the legal and regulatory framework." He said regional
harmonization of laws and procedures relating to investment would enable local
and foreign businesses to approach the Sub-Region as a single market, thereby
enhancing the trade and investment potential and opportunities which should be
unearthed.
He urged participants
to come out with a modern, harmonized, flexible and reliable investment
framework adaptable to each country's economy. Nana Prah said since the
publication was expected to serve as notification of excluded activities, it
should be published at least quarterly. The law should also specify a minimum
notice before putting exclusions into effect.
He said the law
should enhance the credibility and effectiveness of the centre and make it
clearer to potential investors how long processes were supposed to take and
also serve as a challenge to the centre in the performance of its
administrative functions.
Nana Prah said the
question of an investor being given the right "to choose qualified persons
from any country" must be addressed since he could choose not to hire any
locals. "You must consider the need to create employment for competent
locals."
Mrs Linda A. Wells,
Chief Counsel for Commercial Law Development, US Department of Commerce, told
the GNA that it was important to have a common legal system in the Sub-Region
to make investors feel comfortable doing business in the Sub-Region.
"By this, when
an investor comes to Ghana and wishes to expand into Togo, Senegal or Mali, he
would have to deal with the same legal regimes instead of the present system of
Anglophone and Francophone laws that they must grapple with." She
expressed the hope that participants would develop consensus and African
governments would embrace the draft law and approve of it.
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Accra (Greater Accra)
09 April 2003- Vice President Aliu Mahama on Tuesday launched the Ghana Skills
Bank (GSB) with the assurance that the government would harness the
intellectual capacity of Ghanaians around the world to ensure rapid
socio-economic development and the reduction of poverty.
He said:
"Ghana's vision to attain a middle income status by 2015 calls for an all
hands on deck approach towards development... We see Ghanaians shining in many
places in the world. It is time we opened our arms to them and welcomed them
into our fold."
The GSB Network,
initiated by the Ghana Embassy in Washington, is Internet-based interactive
database that documents the skills, expertise and achievements of Ghanaian
professionals and successful entrepreneurs from around the world.
The Network, which
provides a forum for the exchange of ideas on approaches to tackle the
development challenges of the country, also links Ghanaian professionals in all
industries and disciplines with organisations in search of qualified personnel.
The features of the
database, found at www.ghanaskillsbank.org, include professional chat rooms and
information exchange, message boards, job search forums and job listings. Vice
President Mahama challenged Ghanaian professionals to sign up to make their
rich expertise and entrepreneurial skills available to all spheres of national
development to push the agenda of achieving growth and prosperity.
Making reference to
the brain drain, he said the network was a laudable avenue of utilising
Ghanaian talents, while efforts were made to halt the trend and encourage
Ghanaians to return home to build their country.
"It should be
possible for the managers of the GSB, in collaboration with various
professional bodies, such as the Ghana Medical and Dental Board or even the
Ministry of Education to arrange for Ghanaian medical and dental professionals
or teachers, for example, to come home during vacations and sabbaticals to
provide services in their areas of expertise to their fellow countrymen,"
he noted.
He urged Ghanaians
outside the country to use the network to seek information on the divestiture
programme for investment and buying of shares on the Ghana Stock Exchange. Vice
President Mahama said the government would improve the educational system to
give quality education and develop the nation's human resource base as the
experience of India, China and elsewhere had proved a positive relationship
between intellectual capacity and national development.
Alan Kyerematen,
Minister-Designate of Trade, Industry and Special Presidential Initiatives,
stressed the need for the nation to prioritise the development of her human
resource, saying the natural resources of a nation could not be transformed
into prosperity without the requisite human skills and expertise.
He cited Singapore,
Mauritius and Japan as countries with virtually no natural resources but had
been able to achieve significant development because of their rich human
capital. Kyerematen, however, expressed regret about the relatively low turnout
at the ceremony, saying the network must be embraced with greater enthusiasm
because Ghanaian intellectuals should bear in mind that foreign nationals would
not develop their country for them.
"When we
launched the GSB in Washington last June, more than 400 people attended the
ceremony, but there are not as many people here." About 50 people attended
the ceremony in Accra. Kyeremanten said: "We must realise that we ought to
be part of the solution to our problems and not just be critics. We cannot rely
on foreigners to build Ghana, the Jews developed Israel, the Koreans developed
their country and others did the same."
He said the process
was non-discriminatory and every professional or entrepreneur would be accepted
as a subscriber. About 1,000 Ghanaians have so far subscribed to the network.
Alfred Salia Fawundu, UNDP Resident Co-ordinator, said the UN had the mandate
to mediate processes of development of nations hence the UNDP's joint
sponsorship of the GSB.
He said social
networking, using the Internet as a tool, was a brilliant means of tapping
human resource for development. A nine-member Board of Trustees with Kyerematen as Chairman would be in-charge of
the GSB, with a four-member Co-ordinating Committee, led by Lawrence Prempeh
responsible for the day-to-day management.
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Tema (Greater Accra)
09 April 2003- President John Agyekum Kufour on Tuesday said there was an
urgent need to add significantly to the nation's energy stock to reverse the
severe stress on the Akosombo Dam.
This, he said,
required investment and assured Ghanaians of the government's preparedness to
solve the problem to enable industries to operate to the fullest capacity. The
President said this in a speech read for him by Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, Minister
of Energy, at the commissioning of a 10- million-dollar casting production line
for the Aluworks, an aluminium production company.
The commissioning
brings to three the number of casting lines at the factory since it started
operating in 1985. With an initial capacity of 10,000 metric tonnes it was
expanded to 20,000 metric tonnes and is now producing 30,000 metric tonnes.
Aluworks produces for
over 100 firms and individual customers both local and foreign and exports 40
percent of its output to ECOWAS countries as well as to Europe and the USA.
President Kufour expressed the government's intention of becoming an active
partner of the private sector in order to enjoy the benefits of the Golden Age
of Business.
He said Ghana needed
leading industries that could create value for the nation's economy and
commended Aluworks for producing semi-finished and finished aluminium products.
President Kufuor commended the export orientation drive of the company and
urged it to continue with the exploration drive to the US market under the many
opportunities offered by the African Growth Opportunities Act (AGOA) in order
to contribute to the nation's non-traditional exports.
Dr Kofi Konadu
Apraku, Minister, Regional Co-operation and NEPAD, called on Ghanaians to
remain focused on the economy to ensure the rapid growth in the private sector.
He said strenuous efforts made by the government to improve the economy was
manifested in the revitalisation of distressed factories, the support for the
small and medium scale entrepreneurs to operate on sound footing as well the
inauguration of various chamber of commerce in the country.
''All these
achievements could thrive in the atmosphere of peace and stability.'' William
Inkumsah, Chairman of the Board of Aluworks, said appropriate strategies had
been formulated to deal with the issue of electrical power supply facing the
company's main supplier, VALCO, to ensure that the company utilised its
expanded capacity fully. VALCO supplies Aluworks with 5,000 metric tonnes of
ingots. Aluworks also imports 20 metric tonnes ingots from BHP Billiton of
South Africa.
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Accra (Greater Accra)
09 April 2003- Akwasi Osei-Adjei, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, on
Tuesday, tasked traders to expose fellow traders who evade tax as a way of
boosting government revenue base.
He said many traders
smuggled into the country goods that should have attracted huge taxes and they
then sell them at lower prices, thereby undermining the actual price level of
goods.
"To be frank
with you, government looses a lot of money as a result of this dubious practice
of some business colleagues which I would urge you to expose for the benefit of
this nation". Osei-Adjei said this when he met traders and queenmothers of
the Makola Market in Accra.
The meeting was to
enable the Minister acquaint himself with the problems of the market operators
and traders and how best government could assist solve some of their problems.
The Deputy Minister
said taxes on goods were revenue that government uses for the construction of
infrastructure such as roads, schools, hospitals and provision of water and
electricity.
Reacting to a major
concern of traders about high duty rate slapped on them by government, the
Minister said Destination Inspection System has been put in place to inspect
goods of its right standard and quality and charge the duty according to the
value of the goods.
He explained that the
World Trade Organisation regulations indicated that duty rate was fixed but the
valuation was what usually went up, adding, "the actual tax rate is
determined by multiplying the value of goods imported by the fixed rate".
Osei-Adjei urged
importers to always produce genuine invoice, which represented the actual value
of goods being imported for the appropriate tax to be charged. At the Makola Number Two Market where large
quantities of goods belonging to the Used Clothes Sellers Association were
burnt in 12 August last year, the Minister said the Ministry was liaising with
the National Disaster Management Organisation to find ways of assisting the
traders with some capital.
Osei-Adjei urged the
traders to embark on an insurance policy, which would cover the lives, theft,
floods and any other disaster that might occur. Samuel Tetteh, Chairman of the
Ashiedu Keteke Sub-Metro, appealed to traders to desist from street hawking,
parking of vehicles on the link roads and throwing of garbage into gutters.
He said parking of
vehicles on the link roads prevented fire tenders to access the market whenever
there was a fire outbreak. Mrs Christiana Nanor, Vice Chairperson of the Makola
Market Women Association, on behalf of its members appealed to the Accra
Metropolitan Assembly to raise the market sheds higher for ventilation and to
provide fans in them.
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Accra (Greater Accra)
09 April 2003
Currency Buying Selling
U.S. Dollar 8,520.09cedis 8,707.73 cedis
Pound Sterling 13,212.10 13,505.69
Swiss Franc 6,158.34 6,291.08
Canadian Dollar 5,813.14 5,936.57
Danish Kroner 1,233.69 1,260.48
Japanese Yen 71.11 72.65
South African Rand 1,062.60 1,081.81
Euro 9,162.98 9,361.40
CFA Franc
13.97 14.27
Naira 67.62
69.10
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Accra (Greater Accra)
09 April 2003- One Dial Communications, one of the new companies that have
applied to operate an alternative telecommunication network besides Ghana
Telecom Company and Western Telesytems says it is ready to change the face of
communications in Ghana.
Bing Aidoo, Chief
Executive of the Company, told Journalists at a press conference in Accra that
partners in the company have pooled 275 million dollars to develop a wireless
telecommunications infrastructure base across the country, which would make
telephone, voice, internet and other multimedia technologies available at a
cheaper cost.
He mentioned
collaborators in the One Dial deal as Star Communications, Lotus Capital Growth
Fund, from the US, Global Wireless Satellite Networks Incorporated of Canada,
China National Machinery and Equipment and Export Import Bank of China.
He welcomed
government's commitment to the liberalisation of the telecom sector, saying
that Ghana was well placed to become the hub of modern telecommunications
technology in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Aidoo said the
objective of One Dial is to bridge the telecommunication gap in the Sub-Region,
which he noted was far behind the schedule set by the Economic Community of
West African States (ECOWAS).
He said the advantage
One Dial had was that it had everything on stand by: "We are only waiting
for the approval for licence by government and the National Communications
Authority (NCA)." He said One Dial could also provide support for the NCA
to overcome some of its present difficulties.
"One Dial seeks
to develop and operate TD-SCDMA technology, which is one of the three third
generation mobile communication system while also adopting CDMA and GSM mobile
communication systems."
One Dial said it
intended to lay a solid network for Ghana, Nigeria, Mali and Zimbabwe. Others
are Tanzania and Lesotho. The international base of the infrastructure he
noted, would make the cost of telecommunications even cheaper as consumers
would be on the same network no matter the country in which they might be;
"something that would make calling and use of internet facility far
cheaper than we have now."
He said the fixing of
pole-to-pole infrastructure was obsolete and should not be encouraged. Bing
said so far; "we have received favourable response from government and
hope that we would get to the ground soon enough to make things easier for all
consumers. "If we stick to the old way of doing things, using cables,
which has proven to be expensive over the years, we would be drawn back several
years."
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