Ghana Airways can succeed – Sam Jonah
Accra (Greater Accra) 17 August 2001
Debt ridden with no assets, officials of Ghana Airways maintain that the national carrier has the potential to recover from almost a decade of blues and make profit.
Given a respite of three years by creditors, (who the airline owes a total of about 130 million dollars) and a change of the cost-incurring fleet, "the present management can turn things around and we will all be happy with a national airline worth its name.", Sam Jonah, Chairman of the Board told journalists in Accra.
He therefore pleaded with creditors to bear with the new management, saying forward looking and viable proposals had been put before the government, which when approved would help in giving the company hope for a rebound.
He proposed the consolidation of existing liabilities of the airline and said, "The major problem is with the kind of fleet in use and the need for the owner to put in some more money."
The 40-years plus airline presently has six aircraft aged between 18 and 27 years. It has a stated capital of 13,000 dollars, makes about 50 million dollars, but is in debt of about 130 million dollars.
Jonah said the new management inherited a crippling debt of 119 million dollars. " Total loans as at March 31, 2001, stand at 61.8 million dollars while trade creditors are owed 57.5 million dollars."
Three months after taking office the new management has taken measures to ensure the survival of the airline through the suspension of unprofitable routes, renegotiation of debts and reduction of per diem allowance by 40 per cent.
"In agreement with staff, we have effected a 30 per cent suspension of salaries in order to ensure savings on cash flow, while reducing overtime costs from 300 million cedis a month to 56 million cedis a month."
Jonah said the provision for three chief executives has been eliminated while departmental heads have been reduced to the barest minimum.
"We hope to reduce our number of foreign crew from 40 to 20 by the end of
August, save by three per cent on fuel costs and improve on excess baggage fee collection.
"After three months in office, we have improved from collecting one million cedis a month to 400 million cedis a month due to diligence at both departure and arrival points."
Jonah said reduced discounting and issuance of free tickets have been slashed drastically from an average of 100 a month (valued at 78,000 dollars) to eight at the end of May at an average of 19 per cent and 10 at an average of 20 per cent in June.
The airline has since May 31 improved punctuality from 18 per cent to 63 per cent.
According to him, the nation could benefit from the Gateway Concept which had made Accra a hub and built confidence in the country as a safe destination, adding that, " British Airways, Lufthansa, Kenya Airways, and Sabena have all requested more flight times to Accra and we must exploit all this to make us viable again."
"Our industry's technical competence, with Federal Aviation Authority Accreditation puts us in a good position to move forward," he added.
Jonah said, "there has been no time on our side and we have to move quickly. This is because with regional powerhouses such as South Africa Airways, Royal Air Morocco and an open skies policy in the industry we have no choice but to act fast and recapture our market share."
GRi…/
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Accra (Greater Accra) 17 August 2001
The Ministry of Trade and Industry on Thursday warned importers and distributors against importing shoddy and sub-standard electrical goods, saying the ministry would not sacrifice public safety and health at the expense of trade liberalisation.
Appiah Donyina, Senior Commercial Officer said as much as the government would continue to support the private sector to become the engine of growth, it would not allow importers to take advantage of the situation and flood the market with shoddy goods considered to be injurious to the health and safety of consumers.
Donyina was speaking at a meeting with officials of the Ghana Standards Board (GSB), GSBV Company Limited and importers and distributors of electrical goods in Accra.
The meeting was convened to discuss the need to maintain quality standards of imported electrical goods.
Nicholas Sosu, Acting Head of the Engineering Department of the GSB, said a two-month survey on conduit, surface and flexible cables in some parts of Accra found some with no brand names.
Of the 17 brands identified, there was no declaration of the materials used and weight of the reel and coil.
Also, not all the brands declared their trademarks. Most of the brands did not meet the manufacturer's own declared length.
Sosu advised importers to order goods based on specifications and should contact the GSB for the product's standard when in doubt.
GRi../
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Accra (Greater Accra) 17 August 2001
Currency Buying Selling
US Dollar 6,992.00 7,220.55
Pound Sterling 10,123.02 10,458.24
French Franc 979.48 1,011.27
Swiss Franc 4,223.20 4,359.78
Deutsche Mark 3,284.56 3,392.23
Canadian Dollar 4,579.31 4,725.82
Japanese Yen 58.53 60.43
Dutch Guilder 2,915.53 3,010.17
S/African Rand 850.26 877.19
Euro 6,424.46 6,634.26
CFA Franc 9.79 10.11
Naira 64.53 66.64
Ecowas/WAUA 8,824.95 ========
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Accra (Greater Accra) 17 August 2001
Purchases for the 2001 light crop cocoa season ceased at the close of business on Thursday, according to a statement by Ghana Cocoa Board.
The statement signed in Accra by Chris Awuah, Public relations Officer of Cocoa Board, said in order to assist the Licensed Buying Companies to obtain the final returns from their up-country stations, the Board has decided that returns on declared purchases would be accepted up to 1600 hours on Thursday, August 23.
GRi../
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Takoradi (western Region) 17August 2001
The Shama-Ahanta East Metropolitan Assembly (SAEMA), is taking measures to insure the Takoradi market against fire outbreaks.
Announcing this at a meeting with the traders at Takoradi Market on Wednesday, the Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), Philip Kwesi Nkrumah said the move has become necessary due to the frequent fire outbreaks in the market.
He said the insurance arrangement would start immediately the SAEMA completed an exercise to decongest the market and installed devices, which would minimise fire hazards.
GRi../
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