Accra (Greater Accra) 29 January 2003- Ghana is to adopt strategies aimed at deepening and increasing the share of her export market within countries in the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) regional bloc, the European Union (EU) and the United States (US) to boost export revenue.

As part of measures line-up for penetrating into the regional export market, the country will embark on an aggressive marketing and exhibition of made-in Ghana goods in Mali, Nigeria and Burkina Faso as well as adopt a contact promotion programme for goods such as plastics, aluminium, salt, pharmaceuticals and processed foods in countries within the sub-region.

Dr Kofi Konadu Aparaku, Minister of Trade, who announced this, said the promotional activities when carried out would generate $10m in export orders and create employment for about 1,500 people in a year.

It would also enhance the country's share of the ECOWAS market from the current level of 28 percent to 32 percent. The Minister was addressing exporters at the launch of the Enhanced Export School Programme for 2003. The programme, which is the brainchild of the Ghana Export Promotion Council (GEPC), is designed to equip export companies, facilitating agencies and businesses to take advantage of the emerging opportunities in international trade and to enhance their capacities to meet challenges at the market place.

Dr Apraku said through similar programmes in the area of garment, textiles and handicrafts, especially the unhindered access offered to the American market through the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), will increase the country's quota to the North American markets to 15 per cent from the level of nine percent.

"Our plan to complete five handicrafts villages by mid 2003 will give this the necessary boost," the Minister said and added that about four million dollars in revenue is expected from handicraft exports alone in the year.

Dr Apraku underscored the importance of the export sector in the drive to transform the country's economy, adding, however, that any such changes would only be achieved when exporters learn to do things differently, improve their efficiency and get developed.

"What this means in simple terms is that we must produce in requisite quality and volume so that we can meet the requirements of the rest of the world." Dr Apraku, therefore, urged exporters to take advantage of the programmes being offered at the school to enhance their skills in order to meet the challenges of competition, technical requirements and quality standards in the global market.

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Visionary leadership critical for Africa's development

Accra (Greater Accra) 29 January 2003- Even though there is no formula for effective development, visionary and cohesive leadership, ownership of development agenda and effective partnerships are critical factors to growth and better livelihood, a UN official said in Accra on Tuesday.

Abdulai Janneh, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Africa said he was happy that emerging African leaders were beginning to assume strong positions, developing institutions, social capital and sound polices that would help transform their countries into dynamic states capable of meeting the trends of development.

He was speaking at the opening of a brain storming session – Regional Consultation on Development Effectiveness - between representatives of donor partners, civil society, and development and evaluation experts from all over the continent.

He said reality was more complex since development was a long and slow process of transformation and change, a social phenomenon that involved more than increasing per capita output, eliminating poverty, unemployment and inequality.

Janneh noted that leaders and stakeholders must examine how collectively they could ensure that national development strategies and the international development architecture and cooperation framework were geared towards optimal implementation.

"They must also look at how we can set up relevant indicators that would not only serve as a yardstick in allocating development resources and forging development partnerships," Janneh added.

He however, regretted that development on the continent was not accurately reflected in statistics in national accounts and it was not possible to monitor progress, noting that, external economic circumstances are beyond the control of developing countries.

Janneh called on nations to work as owning their own national development agenda, describing NEPAD as a step in the right direction that must be supported by all. He said the process of owning development started by increasing and securing national savings, adding that experience in Asian countries and successful African countries showed that "when the right policies are adopted and persevering efforts are made, low per capita income is not an obstacle to raising the level of saving."

He said the crux of the matter was to channel a growing proportion of the increase in income to saving and decreasing proportion of that increase to consumption. Janneh said economies operating at lower levels of potential needed a big push to set them in motion of sustainable development process.

"Africa, devastated and depleted by slavery and colonialism, may require a lot of resources to be reconstructed", he said. Sulley Gariba, a Development Consultant in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) Business Desk, expressed satisfaction that ownership of development programmes were growing.

"These are shown in the internal processes often led by government with input from civil society", He said in Ghana, "we see this in the growth of Parliament as a framework for harmonising collective resources for development."

Albert Salia Fawundu, UNDP representative in Ghana said he was pleased that the three major drivers of development effectiveness ownership, capacity building and policy contexts were at the core of the current consultations, which would be discussed for the benefit of developing a sound programme for African states.

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Vessel monitoring services to be introduced

Cape Coast (Central Region) 29 January 2003 - Ishmael Ashitey, Minister of State for Fisheries, on Tuesday said plans were underway to introduce Vessel Monitoring Services (VMS) to regulate activities of industrial and semi-industrial vessels.

He said the VMS would help prevent conflict between fishermen and vessel owners thereby bringing sanity into the fishing industry. Ashitey was speaking at the second Central Region fishermen awards day at Cape Coast during which 42 fishermen and 12 fishmongers received awards for their hard work.

Kwesi Acquah, from Komenda, who was adjudged the best fisherman, was presented with a bale of fishing net and other award winners also received fishing nets. Ashitey repeated government's determination to improve marine fishing but said this could be possible if fishermen avoided petty squabbles and remained united.

He said the ministry's new procedure for eliminating unscrupulous persons from the supply of premix fuel would soon be made public. Ashitey said the Ministry of Food and Agriculture had started negotiations with some local banks to procure outboard motors and fishing nets for fishermen at affordable prices.

Isaac Edumadze, Central Regional Minister, said the government had intended to supply 1,000 outboard motors to fishermen throughout the country on credit this year and said his office would ensure fair distribution of the region's allocation.

He however, appealed, to fishermen who might acquire the inputs to promptly pay for them to enable others to benefit. Edumadze said a profit of 207 million cedis was made from the sale of premix fuel last year as against 100 million cedis realised the previous year.

He said 131 million cedis out of last year's amount were disbursed to fishing communities for the provision of toilets, streetlights and clinics among other facilities.

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