B/A Caterers Pay 23 million cedis in Tax
Minister Asks Banks to Assist Key Sectors of Economy
B/A Caterers Pay 23 million cedis in Tax
Techiman (Brong Ahafo), 9th August 99 -
The Brong Ahafo Regional Branch of the Ghana Traditional Caterers Association paid 23 million cedis in income tax to the government last year.
Out of the amount, the Techiman District Branch of the Association paid 7.5 million cedis followed by the Berekum District which accounted for 4.5 million cedis.
The Regional Vice-Chairman of the Association, Mr Casley Hayford Ababio, made this known at Techiman after this year's tourism awards night held in Sunyani recently.
In all, three catering centres and a hotel received awards for excelling in their fields of operation.
They include "Good Make Foods", Sunyani, that won the traditional caterer of the year while "So Nice Foods", Techiman, won the most promising caterer in the region.
The most promising bar award went to ‘Nyame Nnae’ while Dyms Hotel, Techiman, won the 1-2 star award, making it the most outstanding hotel in the region.
In an address, Mr Ababio, who is also proprietor of Mawuli Catering Services at Techiman and a previous award winner, encouraged his colleagues to always strive to achieve the best so that they could also win awards in subsequent events.
He commended operators in the Techiman district for fulfilling their tax obligations and advised defaulting members to pay up or face the law.
GRi../
Minister Asks Banks to Assist Key Sectors of Economy
Accra (Greater Accra) 9 Aug. '99
Mr Dan Abodakpi, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, said on Saturday that the nation's medium to long-term financial targets will remain a mirage if the banks and financial institutions do not transform resources available to them for the benefit of key sectors of the economy.
Without a proactive banking sector, the reform programmes embarked upon by government will not materialise, he said, at the 10th National Awards for Export Achievement for 1998.
Mr. Abodakpi therefore called on the Bank of Ghana to quickly address the situation and ensure that the export sector of the economy develops smoothly without setbacks that will cripple it.
Organised by the Ghana Export Promotion Council (GEPC) in Accra, the awards, instituted in 1989, are conferred on exporters who have distinguished themselves in their fields of operation.
Thirty-seven institutions and one individual received awards for their excellence in the export sector.
Cocoa Processing Company (CPC) was adjudged 'Exporter of the Year' for its quality production of cocoa liquor, cocoa butter and other products.
The company earned 31 million dollars last year from the exportation of its products.
Twenty-eight others received awards in the gold category while eight had certificates.
INDGHA AGRONET Limited received a special award for exporting 13 different products worth 1.4 million dollars.
The deputy minister said the National Strategic Workshop on Export Development and Promotions held in May had submitted its report to cabinet and that a white paper would soon be issued on its outcome to pave the way for its implementation.
On the performance of the non-traditional export sector, Mr Abodakpi said total earnings for 1998 amounted to 401 million dollars compared to the 329 million dollars realised in 1997, an increase of 22 per cent.
He said sub-sectoral analysis of this performance indicated that agriculture earned 77.8 million dollars, representing 19.3 per cent of total earnings.
"The processed and semi-processed sub-sector fetched 317 million dollars, contributing an overwhelming 79 per cent of total export earnings".
Mr Abodakpi said this was an improvement of 18.9 per cent over the 1997 performance of 267 million dollars.
Handicrafts raked in six million dollars against four million dollars for the previous year.
Mr Abodakpi said this improved performance was achieved despite having a fewer number of exporters exporting fewer products.
"While the number of exporters dropped from 3,298 in 1998 to 2,760 last year, the number of products exported also dropped from 270 to 253 during the same period".
He attributed this to the concept of adding value to non-traditional exports.
Mr Abodakpi, who is chairman of the board of GEPC, said the council is in the process of designing guidelines to streamline the administration of the product associations for greater transparency, accountability and efficiency in operations.
In a speech read for him, Dr Frank Abu, the Minister of Trade and Industry, called on the private sector to sustain its momentum and ensure that its role and impact is maintained.
GRi../
Awutu Bereku (Central Region ) 9Aug '99
The Awutu Bereku Rural Bank made remarkable improvement in its operations in the last 12 months, Mr James Eric Nkrumah, Chairman of the bank's Board of Directors, told about 500 shareholders at its 11th annual general meeting at Awutu Bereku on Saturday.
The bank made a net profit of nearly 90 million cedis as against 30 million for the same period last year.
Deposits rose to over one billion cedis, about 50 per cent increase over that of the previews year while loans to customers including farmers, fishermen, fishmongers, transport operators and workers rose from 377 million cedis to 427 million cedis.
He said the bank administered a 45 million-cedi fund for the Awutu-Effutu-Senya district assembly for its poverty alleviation programme.
The Board Chairman said 69.27 per cent of the more than 427 million cedis granted as loans during the 1998-99 financial year had been recovered and commended board members and staff for their co-operation and hard work.
Mr Paul Obeng, Manager of the bank warned loan defaulters that court action might be taken to retrieve the outstanding loans.
He assured shareholders and customers of continued dedicated service to promote the socio-economic development of the area.
Obatan Kobina Otu II, Chairman of the Central Region branch of the Association of Rural Banks and the National Deputy Secretary of the association, Mr Emmanuel Kingsley Ayeh-Obeng commended the shareholders and asked them to increase their share holdings to meet Bank of Ghana requirements.
GRi../