Osafo-Maafo says stability of the economy not artificial
Volta River Authority does not expect power crisis this year
Use Rural Bank as medium for Growth and Investment
Final warning to Tema Car Dealers to leave town
Utilities to attract fees at Trade Fair Centre
Accra (Greater Accra) 11 January 2002 - Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Minister of Finance said on Thursday that the stabilisation of the cedi was not artificial as being peddled by opponents of the government pointing out that improvements in the lifestyle of Ghanaians was ample testimony.
Mr Osafo-Maafo said because past governments and economists failed to bring the necessary sanity the economy needed to grow some were very pessimistic about the achievements of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) within one year.
The Finance Minister was addressing a Peoples' Regional Assembly in Accra as part of activities marking nine years of the Fourth Republic and one year of President John Agyekum Kufuor's administration being organised under the theme : "One year of positive change ."
He said the business community could bear testimony to the fact that the foreign exchange rate was not as erratic as it was in the past and they were now comfortable to provide goods and services without the fear of making losses.
Mr Osafo-Maafo said the inflation the country experienced every Christmas was due to the fact that most traders increased their prices during the season in anticipation of the fall in the value of the cedi in the New Year.
"People now go to the market without the fear of price increases and that is the way the gains made by the economy is transforming into their pockets," he said, attracting wild cheers from the crowd including Ministers of State, Members of Parliament, District Chief Executives, Chiefs and Queen Mothers.
Mr Osafo-Maafo said the government was not ready to pump excess money into the economy to create inflation and so measures were in place to ensure that only services rendered were paid for. "From now on we will make sure that people earn only the money they worked for," he stressed.
He said the government was working out modalities for the disbursement of credit facilities to small and medium-scale entrepreneurs to boost their productivity.
Sheikh Ibrahim Cudjoe Quaye, Greater Accra Regional Minister said in response to a question that last year government paid 2.6 trillion cedis arrears to road contractors to facilitate the execution of new contracts.
Mr Isaac Amoo, MP for Ayawaso West Wagon, announced that government had plans to import buses to boost mass transportation in the country. He said commuter railway services had been introduced to achieve this goal.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 11 January 2002 - The Volta River Authority (VRA) on Thursday spiked press reports of an imminent national power crisis saying it was not anticipating any crisis this year.
It said though the last rains were lower than expected, resulting in a lower than expected level of water in the Akosombo Reservoir, the lower than expected inflow into the Volta Lake would not affect power supply because the thermal generation sources can fully complement the hydro supply to meet the load demand.
This was contained in a statement signed by Mrs Ellen Essilfie, Director of Public Affairs of VRA, in reaction to recent media publications, which, it said, "seeks to create an unwarranted alarming impression of a looming national power crisis."
It said: "The estimated total demand for 2002 is 8,575GWh, out of which our hydro sources will provide about 4,950GWh (58 per cent), while thermal sources and import will provide the remaining 3,625GWh (42 per cent).
"This is a significant increase in thermal power generation compared to 2001, when the total demand was met from 79 per cent hydro and 21 per cent thermal."
It said what changes when the water level is low is the proportion of generation from hydro and thermal sources in the total generation mix. "Even if the Volta Lake was at its maximum of 278ft, the Akosombo and Kpong dams together cannot meet the total national energy requirement."
It said in contrast to the situation in 1997 power crisis, there was sufficient thermal generation capacity at Takoradi of 550MW to meet the projected thermal energy supply for 2002.
"However to do so will require about 180 million dollars for crude oil purchases. This huge foreign exchange component will naturally translate into higher costs of generation, which has to be paid for by the consumer."
The VRA said the Retrofitting Project, which started in 1999 would end by 2004, during which all six generating units would have been retrofitted.
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Abokobi (Greater Accra) 11 January 2002 - Mr. Samuel N. Dsane, Manager of Abokobi Rural Bank on Thursday emphasised that rural banks should be used as medium for growth and investment to promote small-scale industries.
He said, "this would facilitate the attainment the goals of government's declared Golden Age of Business and enhance the socio-economic growth of the economy from the grassroots level to link-up with national structures".
Mr. Dsane said in an interview at Abokobi that rural banks should assume the focal role of funding small-scale industries, traders and farmers in the rural community.
"For the attainment of the government's Golden Age of Business objectives the role and contributions of rural banks cannot be ignored, as they serve as direct link to small-scale industries," he said.
Mr. Dsane, who was a former Operations Manager of Barclays Bank Ghana, Limited noted that rural banks could help accelerate national developmental growth in rural communities and urged the government to utilise them for full realisation of the financial decentralisation policy.
He said "capital needed for these industries are relatively small and within the capital investment portfolio of the rural banks with relatively higher level of recovery."
He said the Abokobi Rural Bank set aside 30 million cedis last year to support identifiable farmers within its catchment area at an interest rate of 20 per cent to serve as an incentive for repayment as well as the bank's contribution and assistance to its clients.
Mr. Dsane said over 500 million cedis was also disbursed as loans to individual companies, salaried workers and other industries in the catchment area of the bank.
He said since 1999, the bank have recorded 98 per cent loan recovery rate through prudent financial management and sensitisation programme.
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Tema (Greater Accra) 11 January 2002 - The Tema District Security Council (DISEC) on Thursday issued an ultimatum to all second hand car dealers operating in the Tema Township and its environs to leave to the Kpone Motor Village specifically allocated to them by next Tuesday, January 15.
Mr Samuel Evans Ashong Narh, Tema Municipal Chief Executive, who is also the Chairman of DISEC, told the GNA that should the dealers be adamant the law would take its course.
Two years ago the Car Dealers, who were operating around the Meridian Hotel and other areas in the town were evacuated to the Kpone Car Park built by the Tema Development Corporation (TDC) at the cost of 1.8 billion cedis.
The place has facilities like canteens, access roads, water, electricity and public places of convenience and also close to the Kpone Township, which has a bank and police station.
Mr Narh said the car dealers moved back to meridian hotel area, the Spintex road and have created another car market near the Tema Motorway Roundabout, which has been reserved by the municipal authorities as a green belt.
He said the dealers were only squatters on the land on which they were operating citing that the land around the Meridian Hotel was a commercial business centre, which was needed for its intended purpose by the TDC.
Mr Narh indicated that vacant lands in Tema had been earmarked for projects by either the TMA or TDC so no individual or group of persons could unilaterally claim ownership over the land.
The Chief Executive said Tema was a planned city and must be regarded as such to avoid chaos. Mr Narh said a committee would be formed within the DISEC to work out the modalities to move the dealers.
Earlier at a Press Conference, the Progressive Car Dealers Association operating at the Accra-Tema Motorway Roundabout stated categorically that since they were Ghanaians operating on their motherland they would not move to Kpone, which they described as not conducive to them.
They complained that when they moved to Kpone two years ago business had declined drastically with some going out business because they did not make sales at all but at their present place they sold about 20 cars in a week.
The Dealers, therefore, appealed to President John Agyekum Kufuor to intervene on their behalf and allow them to stay at their present place because they paid as much as four billion cedis in import duties to the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) annually.
Mr Maxwell Osae Addo, Secretary of the Association, said while the TMA and TDC claimed that their present place of operation was a green belt area and should be allowed to remain vacant, the area was being allocated to others for various business transactions and described that as being unfair to them.
They further complained that while those in Tema were being asked to move to Kpone, their colleagues operating along the Spintex Road and other areas remained in town to their disadvantage.
Miss Mansa Banson, Acting Managing Director of TDC said most of the car dealers in Tema had already acquired plots at the Kpone Car market under liberal terms of payment and had already fenced them.
She said they had, however, ignored several demands to leave to the Kpone car market and later appealed to the former Minister for Works and Housing, Mr Kwamina Bartels to step in on their behalf.
She said the Minister referred the matter to the TDC Board of Directors, which met the car dealers and after deliberations all parties agreed that they should move on January 15.
Miss Banson said the TDC had wanted the car dealers to move by November last year but they pleaded that it should be after the Christmas and New Year festivities.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 11 January 2002 - Utility and car parking facilities at the International Trade Fair Centre are to attract user fees at the forthcoming Eighth Ghana International Trade Fair scheduled for February 26 to March 11.
Ms Esther Ofori, Chief Executive of the Ghana International Trade Fair Company, told journalists on Thursday that the decision to collect user fees for the facilities was to ensure the provision of efficient and quality services during and after the fair.
She said the new exhibition hall now under construction would not be ready for this year's fair. However, rehabilitation of old stands would be completed three days to the fair.
"Unlike in previous times, we are going to ensure that construction work ends three days to the beginning of the fair. I want exhibitors to know and adhere to this date."
Registration of participants will end on January 30th. Seminars and matchmaking sessions will be held during the fair to facilitate exchange of ideas between local enterprises and their foreign counterparts.
Two Hundred and fifty local and 31 foreign companies have so far registered to participate in the fair.
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