European Union provides 27m Euros for micro projects
Accra (Greater Accra) 31 January 2002 - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Thursday said the government was reviewing the financial situation at Ghana Airways and would soon take a decision to protect and enhance the nation's interest.
"Years of reckless mismanagement has left Ghana Airways in a most precarious state," he said.
"Anytime a Ghana Airways plane flies, even when fully booked, it makes losses and runs the risk of the plane being seized by one or other of its many creditors," he said in his State of the Nation Address to Parliament, but added that even in its present state, Ghana Airways remained a national asset with great potential for success and a source of pride to many.
Ghana Airways, the national carrier, is said to be in a precarious financial position and on the brink of bankruptcy, with a debt of 150 million dollars owed to creditors.
The Daily Graphic, a national newspaper, quoted industry experts as saying that the only possible solution of preventing the airline from collapse was the immediate intervention of government to bail it out.
On rehabilitation at the airport, President Kufuor said air travel would be easier with the completion of works on the extension of the runway at the Kotoka International Airport.
"This will enhance our desire to be the aviation hub in the sub-region." On telecommunications, he said the policy was for Ghana to become the Information Technology (IT) hub of the sub-region, since it held a promise of enabling the economy to leapfrog into accelerated growth.
He said since telecommunications was the next quicker way of opening up the country, the government would renegotiate existing telecommunications agreements to introduce more competition and accelerate access to telephones, Internet and IT throughout the country.
GRi../
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Accra (Greater Accra) 31 January 2002 - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Thursday said the robust generation of revenues from domestic sources was necessary to grow the economy.
The main thrust of the government's fiscal policy would, therefore, be the implementation of various revenue enhancing measures to be outlined in this year's budget, President Kufuor said when he delivered his Sessional Address on the State of the Nation to the Second Session of the Third Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana in Accra.
President Kufuor announced that all the arrears on the District Assemblies Common Fund and the Ghana Education Trust Fund, which it inherited from the past government, had been paid.
In addition, about 214 billion cedis out of the 234 billion cedis arrears the government inherited in the road sector had also been paid to enable contractors to continue in their business.
President Kufuor said for a long time now, external resources inflows had constituted a major component of the country's development programmes. This, he said, showed that the country had been dependent on the generosity of donors for the provision of basic infrastructure such as roads, schools, health facilities and potable water.
President Kufuor expressed appreciation to donor countries but said the country could not be built on charity to make the dramatic changes being demanded by the people.
On macro economic achievements, President Kufuor said inflation, which raged at 40.5 per cent in December 2000, had now come down to 21.3 per cent and was still falling.
He said the Cedi also stabilised against the major currencies and recorded a marginal annual depreciation of only 3.6 per cent as compared to an annual depreciation of 91.5 per cent in 2000.
President Kufuor said this had resulted in a reduction of the Treasury Bill rate forcing the banks to think twice about seeking easy money in Treasury Bills instead of setting money to work to generate wealth.
He said the banks had responded by lowering their base rates to an average of about 35 per cent from an average of about 50 per cent at the beginning of the year. "We hope the banks will be more responsive to the improvements by a more aggressive and competitive lowering of their lending rates."
President Kufuor said there had been a significant growth in savings and time deposits, indicating lower inflationary expectations and increased confidence in the holding of domestic assets.
He said this was the answer to those sceptics, who said lower inflation rates and a stable cedi did not mean anything to the poor in society. "Positive change is being felt everywhere and I dare say even in the pockets. This is because now that prices are stable people can plan on their emoluments, however, meagre. The biggest enemy of the poor in economic terms is high inflation," he added.
GRi../
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Accra (Greater Accra) 31 January 2002 - The Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) said on Wednesday that Ghana Airways' financial problems have a major repercussions on GCAA's operations since it is a major contributor to the authority's revenue.
This is because the airline contributes about 30 per cent of GCAA's annual revenue, the Acting Director General of the GCAA, Captain Joe Boachie said when he briefed an 18-member Parliamentary Select Committee on Roads and Transport, which was on a familiarization tour of the facilities and ongoing projects at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).
Currently, Ghana Airways is indebted to GCAA to the tune of six million dollars and this was causing a lot of operational problems for the Authority, he said. The debt was from its inability to pay their airport passenger service as well as aeronautical charges.
Among the number of concerns put before the Committee was the issue of GCAA's tax payment to the government. Capt. Boachie said the international norm was for civil aviation authorities to reinvest revenue they generated into airport development projects.
He also expressed concern about the court injunction initiated by the La Traditional Council on the development of the Airport City Project. Capt. Boachie said following September 11 terrorist attacks in the US, some airlines had reduced the number of flights, but GCAA had enjoyed substantial increase by other airlines such as Lufthansa, Alitalia and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines while Kenya Airways had started operations in Ghana.
He noted that this was a healthy sign for the nation's development and confidence that the international aviation community had in GCAA. Capt. Boachie said following the recent installation of new radar some airlines, whose routes take them close to Ghana's flight information region, were now routing their flights through Accra because of the availability of that facility.
He said he was happy to note that several African countries including Senegal, Rwanda, Togo, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone and the Gambia have visited Accra to understudy GCAA's operational practices on recommendation from the International Civil Aviation Organization and the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States.
Capt. Boachie said phase two of the rehabilitation works involving the extension of the runway and passenger terminal as well as a dedicated freight apron was on course and expected to be completed by September.
Mr Solomon K. Sarfo, Chairman of the Committee expressed satisfaction at the development projects and expressed the hope that they would be completed on schedule. This, he said, would minimise congestion and delays.
GRi../
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Accra (Greater Accra) 31 January 2002 - The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) All-Share Index made its biggest gain this year when it appreciated by 1.01 points during trading on Wednesday to end at 957.34 points.
Patterson Zochonis (PZ) went up by 40 cedis at 1,050 cedis while Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) gained five cedis at 1,575 cedis to push the index up. The change for the year also went up to 0.15 points from 0.04 points.
Total shares traded increased from a paltry 6,800 shares on Monday to 71,500 with Aluworks selling 50,700 shares.
Market capitalisation responded positively by moving up to 3,906.72 billion cedis from 3,904.78 billion cedis. The following are the closing prices of the equities in cedis:
ABL 320
AGC 18,800
ALW 4,280
BAT 627
CFAO 60
EIC 3,061
FML 950
GBL 1,000
GCB 1,575 +5
GGL 905
HFC 952
MGL 241
MLC 145
MOGL 18,500
PAF 800
PBC 450
PZ 1,050 +40
SCB 20,551
SPPC 341
SSB 2,200
UNIL 2,300
CMLT 430
GRi./
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Accra (Greater Accra) 31 January 2002 - The following are the average inter bank exchange rates of the cedi to the dollar and derived rates for other major foreign currencies, announced on Wednesday January 30, 2002, by the Ghana Association of Bankers.
Currency Buying Selling
US Dollar 7,188.73 7,384.18
Pound Sterling 10,160.55 10,440.49
Swiss Franc 4,230.92 4,344.77
Canadian Dollar 4,515.20 4,636.30
Japanese Yen 54.44 55.60
S/African Rand 630.11 643.39
Euro 6,216.31 6,383.67
CFA Franc 9.48 9.73
Naira 64.31 66.06
Ecowas/WAUA 9,035.32 -----------
GRi../
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Wa (Upper West) 31 January 2002 - Disbursement of the sum of 27 million Euros under the second phase of the fifth European Union (EU) micro projects beginsin April this year.
Commissioning of projects completed under the first phase in December last year, also starts throughout the 110 districts in the country in the first week of February this year.
These were disclosed by the Reverend Samuel Otu-Pimpong, deputy programme manager, EU micro projects unit in Accra, when he briefed a meeting of the Upper West Regional Coordinating Council at Wa on Wednesday, on EU projects under the second phase.
Rev. Otu-Pimpong told the meeting, attended by Regional Minister, Sahanun Mogtari, the five District Chief Executives and Regional heads of departments that the sum of 27 Euros was a big increase over the previous ones, describing the amount as a big boost for the governments efforts to improve the quality of life of the rural people and also reducing poverty".
The deputy programme manager of the EU micro projects unit, called on DCEs to co-operate with officials of the programme to realise its objectives. Rev. Otu-Pimpong however, pointed out that the release of funds for the commencement of projects under the second phase would depend on satisfactory audit report on how the assembly used funds specifically allocated for administrative purposes under the previous phase.
Rev. Otu-Pimpong announced that a new feature introduced into the programme for the commissioning of the completed projects by the EU ambassador include the planting of trees as special highlight of the function.
He therefore, advised all DCEs to make their selection of tree species towards the commissioning of projects in their districts. Rev. Otu-Pimpong said the deadline for the completion of EU projects throughout the country on December 15, 2001, had been extended to the end of this month.
He said sample evaluation of the 54 EU projects in the region indicate that the Wa and Sissala districts have done a good job and commended them for living up to expectation.
GRi../
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