Government re-instate15 per cent tax on fuel
No market for CMA's sheabutter
Ghana Export Roundtable inaugurated in
Accra.
Tema Port X-ray scanner attracts Israelis
Accra (Greater Accra) 24 August 2001
The government on Thursday announced the re-introduction of 15 per cent ad-valorem excise duty on fuel with effect from last Friday, August 17, barely five months after abolishing it.
It said this action "will not alter the existing ex-pump prices of petroleum".
Parliament reinstated the ad-valorem duty in July after the legislature abolished it in February following a motion the Minister of Finance, Yaw Osafo-Maafo brought to the House.
The 15 per cent ad-valorem excise duty of ex-refinery price averages 200 cedis per litre.
A statement issued from the office of the President and said the Ministry of Energy in July this year published a formula that would "adjust ex-refinery prices automatically in line with international prices and the exchange rate of the cedi".
The statement said, "Government will continue to monitor crude oil prices and the exchange rate so as to reintroduce the Excise Duty Specific, hopefully, at a time when similarly favourable conditions can permit the reintroduction".
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Tamale (Northern Region) 24 August 2001
Large quantities of sheabutter worth millions of cedis have pilled up at six production centres of the Christian Mothers Association (CMA) in the Northern Region since June last year because there are no buyers.
Madam Augustina Kwakye, National President announced this at the Association's fourth Annual General Meeting at Tamale on Thursday and invited interested buyers saying, "our sheabutter is of high quality."
The sheabutter, extracted by members of the Association with assistance from
the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) as part of its Community Empowerment Programme, has failed to reach both the local and international markets.
Representatives at the various Dioceses of the Catholic Church and staff of the Association's National Secretariat are attending the three-day meeting on the theme: "harnessing the potentials of women towards the realisation of an enhanced public life."
Madam Kwakye said the Association was no longer content with merely assisting women to realise their economic potentials, but "we also now want to harness our potential towards becoming part of the decision-making apparatus of the country."
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Ghana Export Roundtable inaugurated in
Accra.
Accra (Greater Accra) 24 August 2001
The Ghana Export Roundtable (GER), the mechanism to give concrete realisation to the Export Action Programme for Garments and Textiles in Ghana was inaugurated at the State House in Accra on Thursday.
It will provide a comprehensive range of services to targeted companies including training, market identification, financing, product development, production management, quality assurance and freight forwarding.
Membership of the GER includes representatives from the financial institutions, Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Federation of Associations of Ghanaian Exporters (FAGE) and the Ghana Export Promotion Council (GEPC).
The others are Ghana Free Zones Board, EMPRETEC Ghana Foundation, CEPS, the TUC, Ghana Association of Insurance Companies, Export Development and Investment Fund, UNDP Enterprise Africa and EU Business Assistance Scheme.
Vice President Aliu Mahama, who inaugurated the GER, said the support to be provided to the export sector would enhance the competitiveness of companies in the garment and textiles industry and ensure that they meet set targets.
He reminded members to operate within the guidelines provided under the working rules and regulations to ensure transparency in the GER operations.
The Export Action Programme for Garments and Textiles in Ghana is one of
President John Agyekum Kufuor's two Special Initiatives launched on August 16 for implementation to provide job opportunities for Ghanaians.
The other initiative is the Integrated Action Programme for Cassava Starch Production and Export.
The Garments Textiles initiative is expected to create 70,000 jobs and realise about 3.4 billion dollars in export revenue within the next four years based on the country's ability to take advantage of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
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Tema (Greater Accra) 24 August 2001
The fixed X-ray Scanner at the Tema Port has become an international showpiece with Israel being the latest country to send a delegation to study its operations.
The "Herman Cargo Vision 5000 RSV Scanner", the latest technology in scanner systems was installed a year ago by Gateway Services Limited (GSL) to speed up the clearing of goods at the port.
Among the countries, which have come to inspect it since its installation are Britain, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal and Tanzania.
The Israeli delegation was made up of Yoram Tibi, responsible for Customs Security at the City of Ashdod, Micha Gal, from the Technical Branch of the Israeli Police, Dr Ada Rehavi, a Physicist and Consultant to the Israeli government and Haim Ben Ari, Consultant Advisor for scanner systems.
Tibi, leader of the delegation, which was in the country for five days, said they have visited the United States, Russia, China and Europe but were interested in the scanner in Ghana because it uses the latest technology.
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