GRi Business, Economics & Finance 16 –
04 - 2003
Accra (Greater Accra) 16 April 2003-
The Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) on Tuesday said it
had made available money to be paid to all Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs) for payment of bonuses to cocoa farmers for the year
2002/2003 main crop season for purchases up to December 31, 2003.
A statement signed in
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Officials of a number of banks
and manufacturing entities under the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) and
Private Enterprise Foundation (PEF) umbrella have also recently complained
about the negative effect of the Levy on their operations, which, they indicated,
should be brought to an end quickly.
They welcomed the significance
and the use of the levy, which is for development purposes saying: "It is
important that they are actually used for the purposes for which they were
collected."
Emmanuel Idun,
Finance Director of Unilever Ghana Limited, stopped short of kicking against
the Levy but said industry players hoped that its collection would actually end
after the renewed three year period.
Idun was responding to a question on
the Levy at a breakfast meeting with members of the
"We are definitely not
happy with the continued collection of the Levy anyway and hope that the levy
would end in the new three years that the government has stated. Otherwise, it
becomes an income tax and must be introduced into the system
appropriately."
Unilever paid a total of 2.5
billion cedis as National Reconstruction Levy in 2001, increasing to 3.2
billion cedis in 2002. The National Reconstruction Levy was first introduced in
government's interim budget of 2001 and was intended to develop a strong base
for long-term development finance for the country.
Other industry players told the
GNA that though the reason for the levy was welcomed its impact had become a
difficult thing to bear. "What we do not like is a hidden tax component on
production. This is not convenient for our productivity as it goes to affect
company profits and our ability to meet targeted projections, not to talk about
the impact on consumers," an industrialist said.
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Currency Buying Selling
Cedis
Cedis
U.S. Dollar 8,528.73 8,727.64
Pound
Swiss Franc 6,118.69 6,259.10
Canadian Dollar 5,856.53 5,991.88
Danish Kroner 1,234.65 1,263.29
Japanese Yen 70.82
72.45
South African
Euro 9,171.12 9,379.00
CFA Franc 13.98 14.30
Naira 68.45
70.04
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The figures represented a
decrease of 12.68 per cent in value and 4.58 per cent in volume for the two
comparative periods. Thomas Broni, Deputy Minister of
The Interior, announced these at the opening of a three-day Capacity-Building
Workshop on Forestry Laws and Regulations and Export of Wood Products at the
Wood Industries Training Centre at Akyawkrom, near
He said the country could have
achieved higher earnings from the export of wood products, if the regulatory
agencies had exercised greater vigilance in the performance of their functions.
He, therefore, charged the regulatory agencies in the timber export sector to
critically examine the statutes and procedures regulating the export trade and
develop strategies that would enable the agencies to collaborate effectively
and collectively in ensuring that
Broni, who was until recently a
Deputy Minister of Lands and Forestry, urged the participants of the workshop
to seriously discuss the issue concerning the management of overland export of
wood products to ensue that the country derived maximum returns from wood
export.
Representatives from Custom,
Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS),
It is aimed at sensitising the
key players in the regulation of export of wood products and to discuss issues
that would help increase wood export revenue for the country.
Kwadwo Wireko-Brobbey,
a member of the FC, said CEPS and GPHA as well as the Commission, were equally
enjoined by the Constitution of Ghana to protect the country's resources and
properties through their procedures on exports.
He said the Commission appreciated
the part being played by the regulatory agencies in the preventive and
protective efforts, adding that, the Commission would continue to sensitise them
to improve their efficiency with the view to addressing collectively the issues
of meeting the challenges of modern sophistication in export irregularities.
Kofi Danquah, Assistant
Commissioner of CEPS, said the Service had over the years, performed its duties
with thoroughness and diligence. He said CEPS would continue to enforce all
laws and regulations that the FC would entrust to it.
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