GRi Business, Economics & Finance 11 - 07 - 2002
Ghana-US Meet to discuss trade and
investment
Ghana-US Meet to discuss trade and
investment
Accra (Greater Accra) 11 July 2002-GNA - Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, Minister of Trade and Industry, said on Wednesday that the government was conscious that it had great responsibilities despite the numerous opportunities made available to it by the international community.
He said opportunities and goodwill extended to Ghana by the international community needed to be actualised and translated into economic gains and this required that Ghana and her partners in, especially, trade and investment, should strengthen their relations.
It was in pursuit of one of such relations that Dr Apraku opened the second Ghana-US Council meeting on Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) signed in 1999. The agreement aims at developing and enhancing trade investment relations between Ghana and the US.
The US was represented at the meeting by a 21-member delegation led by Ambassador Jon Huntsman Junior, Deputy United States Trade Representative, Ms Rosa Whitaker, US Trade Representative for Africa and Ambassador Charles Twining, the American Charge d' Affairs in Ghana.
Dr Apraku, who is the leader of Ghanaian side, said delegates at the meeting would discuss trade and investment issues on long and short-term basis. He said discussions on short-term issues would centre on access to markets and the opening of greater opportunities to Ghana.
Ghana, he said, was particularly interested in discussing how to make the opportunities work, the lessons to be learnt and the technical support it could access. "On the other hand, there are issues and problems that emanated from the recent World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreements reached in Doha, which are mutually shared by the two partners. "It is easier to come out with agreements but problems arise when it comes to negotiations and defining positions on the agreements," the minister observed.
Dr Apraku noted that one of the most urgent issues Ghana needed to discuss with the US trade team was commercial disputes saying; "this is a good platform to deliberate on the issue and find a broader line of communication".
Ambassador Huntsman described the meeting as a special one saying that Ghana was one of the few countries to benefit from discussion on TIFA with the US. Ghana and the US had thriving political relations, he said, adding that that was a good platform to build on economic relations. He said the good relations should also serve as a mechanism to strengthen and build on the commercial.
What was needed for Ghana to benefit from the relations was for it to access available resources and build its capacity and confidence. Ambassador Huntsman said the US was considering granting a scholarship to a Ghanaian trade official to study abroad and also put up a capacity building centre to train personnel.
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 11 July 2002- Mrs Elizabeth Joyce Villas, President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has suggested the merger of small and one-man businesses to make them viable in the face of global competition.
She said major companies even in Europe were merging to be able to enjoy economy scale so as to stay in business. ''That is why we in Ghana are crying about the dumping of goods on our market but the truth is that the cost of production in the country is too high and, therefore, people will continue to buy the goods dumped on us,'' the AGI president explained.
Mrs Villas gave the advice during visits to some industries in Kumasi with some AGI Council members to find out their problems and how best to help them solve them. The companies visited were Kapital Radio, a private FM Radio station, Maxwell Owusu Timbers, Nnuro Kente, producers of Kente yarns, AFANKO Limited, manufacturers of egg trays, RAKITA Holding Limited, agro-food processors and GALCO Limited, manufacturers of pomade and powder.
The AGI President acknowledged the industry of the people of Ashanti and said Kumasi was very vital to the AGI since a great percentage of its members were in Kumasi. ''However, if they do not change the present one-man business attitude and stop employing mediocre relatives in their businesses, they stand the risk of going out of business.''
Mrs Villas also called on industries to take advantage of the technical section of the association to improve upon their production and also prepare business plans to enable them to access funding. At Kapital Radio, Mrs Villas appealed to the station to use its medium to sensitise the people to team up and form viable companies to meet the global market.
At Maxwell Owusu Timbers, the AGI President told the management to take advantage of a Trade Fair it was going to hold in Burkina Faso to showcase their lumber products. She said a survey conducted by AGI in the West Africa Sub-Region showed that one of the items very much in need was timber, particularly in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
At Nnuro Kente, Mrs Villas asked Mr Kwaku Nnuro, the Managing Director, to prepare a business plan and send a copy to AGI after he had told the Council members that due to the loss of five billion cedis he incurred in foreign exchange transactions in 1999 and 2000, the banks were not ready to assist him.
Mr Nnuro said he had also stopped using the double thread yarn machine that could produce double yarns and towels due to the huge electricity bill. Mr Samuel A. Apenteng, AGI Second Vice-President, described Mr Nnuro as a trailblazer. ''There is no doubt that he had made a huge investment.'' Mr Nnuro said he needed about 500 million cedis to get the factory to full production capacity but attempts to get the banks to assist him had proved futile.
At AFANKO Limited, Mr David Darko-Mensah, the Managing Director and President of the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo Regions AGI, complained about the huge electricity bill the company had to contend with. He expressed regret that it was only in Ghana where industries paid higher electricity bills to virtually subsidise domestic consumers instead of paying cheaper rates to ensure their stay in business.
At RAKITA Holding Limited, Mr Daniel Ahenkora, the Production Manager, told the Council that its pig feed, the by-product of Soyabean could not be sold because GAFCO, another agro food processing company, had imported a lot of pig feed at cheaper prices into the market. He said the company got its supply of soyabeans from the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions, while it sent the crude seed oil it extracts to a sister company at Esiam in the Western Region to be refined.
The AGI President advised the company that in order to cut down on cost it should organise out-growers in Ashanti and Brong Ahafo to feed the factory and told the company to provide ready market for the farmers at all times. At GALCO, Alhaji G. Lawal, the Managing Director, told the Council that he would soon install machines to fill containers with the pomade and powder, a task that is done manually.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 11 July 2002
Currency Buying Selling
US Dollar 7,880.82 8,091.00
Pound Sterling 12,227.09 12,554.80
Swiss Franc 5,323.77 5,462.41
Canadian Dollar 5,212.56 5,347.93
Japanese Yen 66.88 68.63
S/African Rand 788.13 805.13
Euro 7,846.93 8,054.15
CFA Franc 11.96 12.28
Naira 66.76 68.54
ECOWAS/WAUA 10,407.48 --------
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