Seminar on performance of privatised enterprises opens
Pineapple export is not in crisis - SPEG
Seminar on performance of privatised enterprises opens
Out
of the number, 190, representing 81 per cent were divested to Ghanaians, with
20 being joint ventures between Ghanaians and foreigners whilst 23 were sold to
foreign investors.
Dr Kwame Adom-Frimpong, of the
Chartered Institute of Administrators (CIA) said this at the opening of a two-day seminar
to discuss
The
seminar, which was organised by CIA for its members
was also used to introduce the types and techniques of privatisation available
to the participants.
Dr Adom-Frimpong said by the end of the seminar, members would
be able to describe the various privatisation techniques that could be applied
by the state and explain why government decided to adopt the privatisation system.
He
said though privatisation helps to increase the revenue of government, its
negative effects on the country's gross domestic product, inflation, market
competition, savings rate was enormous.
According
to Dr Adom-Frimpong, whilst some of the privatised
enterprises were performing well, others were struggling to find their feet in
the competitive market. He gave some of the reasons why government divested
state owned enterprises as political intervention, high cost of employment,
high wage agitation by trade unions and insufficient consumer orientation.
He
said government sometimes privatise profitable companies to ensure
competitiveness and cost effective operation, generate positive cash flows for government
to ensure the implementation of development projects, among other reasons.
Adom- Frimpong said to be successful
privatisation programmes should have clear objectives, sound strategy,
well-defined plan, good management and strong commitment.
He
said development of regulatory bodies to oversee and monitor the prices as well
as the quality of various products could also be a measure to counter the
negative impacts of privatisation.
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Pineapple export is not in crisis - SPEG
This
was contained in a release signed by the General Manager of SPEG, Stephen Mintah on Wednesday in reaction to a statement made by
TECHNOSERVE at a recent workshop. It said: ''
The
statement said currently, pineapple exports by SPEG members accounted for over
95 per cent of the total exports from
It
said the remaining 18,000 tonnes were shipped by air adding that with the
exception of negative growth in 1997 and 1998 due to the excessive droughts,
pineapple exports continued to grow significantly.
The
release said SPEG was conscious of the threats posed to the industry such as
inroads being made by multinational companies, the introduction of MD2 variety
on the market and the current demands by supermarkets and buyers for strict
suppliers with a minimum food safety and other agricultural standards.
It
said SPEG in collaboration with USAID and AMEX International and other
governmental and non-governmental organizations were making efforts to set up a
tissue culture facility for mass production of healthy and identical plantlets
of crops including new varieties of pineapples that were now preferred in the
European market.
The
statement, therefore, requested TECHNOSERVE to consult the right players in the
pineapple industry for discussions on any concerns it has or any support it may
want to offer to the pineapple industry.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 3 July 2003 - Trading on the Ghana Stock Exchange slowed on Wednesday
with a mere 29,100 shares changing hands, down from Monday's close of 118,000,
as institutional buyers stayed on the sides.
However,
the GSE All-Share Index climbed by 3.54 points to 2,088.24 points in trading
that saw only three equities making price movements.
Guinness
Ghana Limited (GGL) was the biggest gainer with a ¢71 rise to ¢2,901. SSB Bank
and Ghana Commercial Bank each gained ¢1 in trading that saw only seven of the
24 listed equities selling shares.
SSB
Bank ended the day at ¢7,301 while GCB closed at ¢6,301. Change for the year
was 49.66 per cent from Monday's close of 48.20 per cent. Market capitalisation
improved at ¢8,660.91bn from ¢8,652.34bn.
The
following are the last prices of listed equities in cedis:
ABL 456
AGC 28,600
ALW 4,000
BAT 1,913
CFAO 72
CPC 630
EIC 6,000
FML 2,607
GBL 552
GCB 6,301 +1
GGL 2,901 +71
HFC 2,600
MGL 268
MLC 466
MOGL 21,000
PAF 750
PBC 451
PZ 2,056
SCB 44,000
SPPC 390
SSB 7,301 +1
SWL 285
TBL 6,000
UNIL 7,204
CMLT 460
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The
system was introduced under the Legislative Instrument 1727,
that empowers the IRS to implement the Sticker System as a new mode of
payment of income tax on quarterly basis by commercial transport operators to
replace the current weekly payment.
Mrs.
Janet Opoku-Akyeapong, Commissioner of IRS, who
disclosed this at a seminar with the Regional Commanders of Police on the role
of the police in the VIT sticker system, said the new tax was reduced
drastically to encourage transport operators to patronize the system.
She
said the quarterly payment has become necessary because the weekly one has been
bedevilled with many negative factors, which have made the mobilization of
optimum revenue collection impossible from an otherwise potentially rich
sector.
The
Commissioner said the seminar was convened because the IRS recognizes and
appreciate the role the police could play in enforcing tax laws and urged them
to co-operate with the service to ensure the success of the programme.
"The
success or failure of the implementation of the system depends, to a large
extent on activities of the police. The arrest and prosecution of defaulting
transport owners and drivers are best executed by the police,
hence any lapses on their part will result in a huge loss of revenue to the
state."
Kwame Adjei-Djan, Deputy Commissioner in-charge of
Legal Services, said defaulters would be prosecuted and on summary conviction,
the person is liable to a fine not less than ¢500,000 and ¢1m maximum or to a term
of imprisonment of not less than two months and not more than three months.
He
therefore, urged all commercial drivers to ensure that they purchase the tax
and display their stickers on the windscreen to avoid prosecution. David Oppong, Chief Inspector of Taxes, said the vehicles were
grouped into four categories and the stickers were printed in four colours to
eliminate fraud.
He
said for example, Taxis/Hiring cars are in category one, Trotro
buses, category two, commuters (long distance vehicles), category three, while
heavy-duty vehicles are in the fourth category.
Chief
Supt. David Tandoh, Commander of
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The
installation is part of the Central Banks' transformation exercise that intends
to shed off about 1,000 staff members. The programme, which started last week,
would continue for two weeks, after which staff, who wished to leave the Bank
would be processed and appropriate compensation paid to them.
In
an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) Business Desk in
He
said at the end of the three-week period disengagement would start from August
2003 by which time staff wishing to leave the Bank would be free to leave.
Yahya said the equipment being installed was capable of dispensing, picking
out counterfeit and mutilated notes while arranging them in an order that would
keep the notes in good state.
This,
he noted would ensure that the lifespan of the Cedi notes are prolonged. The
Bank of Ghana spends about three billion cedis a
month to replace mutilated cedi notes through poor handling. The Central Bank
withdraws about nine million mutilated notes, which have been in circulation
for up to six months or a year are withdrawn every month.
Yahya explained that the developmental style of approach adopted by Dr Kwame Nkrumah led to the creation of certain departments in
the Bank, which resulted in the employment of a rather large number of people
to handle issues of development financing.
He said
as part of the transformation, the BoG merged the
Development Finance, Rural Banking Finance Department and the Non-Bank
Financing Department.
He
said the disengagement of about 1,000 people in the Bank would be across the
entire levels of the Bank, "and not necessarily from the non-core
areas," adding that besides," the entire exercise is voluntary."
Yahya said a counselling unit had been set up to counsel staffs that have
decided to leave. He said they would be advised freely on what exactly to do.
He said some other people would be freshly engaged to address the growing needs
of the Bank.
He
said
The
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Currency Buying Selling
U.S.
Dollar 8,596.55 8,764.45
Pound
Swiss
Franc 6,396.22 6,518.43
Canadian
Dollar 6,374.54 6,496.63
Danish
Kroner
1,335.52 1,360.97
Japanese
Yen 72.16 73.54
South
African
Euro 9,921.53 10,112.03
CFA
Franc 15.13 15.42
Naira 68.14 69.47
ECOWAS
WAUA 12,377.25
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Elmina (Central Region)
He
said some people had put warnings on the Internet claiming falsely that
investors and tourists risked their lives going to the area, because there was
a dispute raging there.
Edumadze expressed this concern, when he addressed the chiefs and people of the
Edina Traditional Area, during a purification ceremony to lift the month-long
ban on fishing in the 'Benya Lagoon, as part of
activities marking their annual 'Bakatue' festival.
The
ceremony, began with the chief Fetish Priest assisted by two others, casting
the 'Omanhene's net' three times into the Lagoon,
amidst the firing of musketry, and jubilation by the people, to signify the
lifting of the ban.
The
Regional Minister, noted that these negative actions were taking their toll, as
only a handful of tourists showed up this year to witness the festival, as
compared to attendance in previous years.
He
cautioned that the area, would "not see development" if the trend
continued, and urged the saboteurs, to stop, reminding them that tourists'
participation in such events, was of economic importance to the area and the
country at large.
The
Minister reiterated the government's determination to enhance socio-economic
development, but warned that it would, however, not undertake any development
projects in areas where "conflicts and chieftaincy disputes abound".
He,
therefore, stressed the need for aggrieved persons to use the appropriate
channels to seek redress and warned that the law would deal with those who used
unorthodox means.
Other
activities to mark the ceremony included a regatta and swimming competition.
The district assembly presented cash prizes to the winners of the regatta,
which was won by 'Bantuma', with 'Abese
Highlife' and 'Yadodo' placing second and third,
respectively.
There
were, however, no prizes for winners of the swimming competition, because there
was no sponsorship for the event.
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