GRi Business, Economics & Finance 04 – 07 - 2003

PMMC presents 500 million cedis dividend

GWCL loses six billion every month

 

 

PMMC presents 500 million cedis dividend

   

Accra (Greater Accra) 4 July 2003 - The Precious Minerals Marketing Company Limited (PMMC) on Thursday presented a cheque for ’500m to government as dividend on the operations of the company for 2002.

 

This is an increase of 67 per cent over that of 2001 when the company presented ’300m as dividend to government, its sole shareholder. Asare-Boakye Yiadom, Chairman of the Board's Sub-Committee on Finance and Audit, who presented the dividend to the Minister of Mines, said the company, for 2002, achieved a turnover of ’271.8bn, showing a growth of 17 per cent over the previous year's turnover of ’233.1bn.

 

Flanked by Peter Boachie, Managing Director and George Asante, Deputy Managing Director of Operations, among other top members, Yiadom said the company earned a profit before tax of ’3.74bn, an increase of 66 per cent over the previous year's figure of ’2.25bn.

 

"The company recorded almost 100 per cent (99.25 per cent) growth in its net profit. The net profit increased from ’1.35bn in the previous year to ’2.69bn for the year 2002."

 

Yiadom said the PMMC brought a total of $33.9m into the country from its export of precious minerals and jewellery for 2002 as against $31.7m generated the previous year. He said the company had honoured all its tax liabilities up to the end of 2002 as an additional contribution to government revenue.

 

“The total paid for the year 2002 operations was ’1.1bn as against ’890.7m paid for 2001. 

 

Mrs Cecilia Bannerman, Minister of Mines, said the performance contract signed recently by the Company indicated that it was expected to earn total revenue of ’298.2bn by the end 2003 and pay a dividend of ’600m. She said the PMMC had over the years exhibited an annual commitment in the payment of dividends to government and expressed the Ministry's delight to receive the dividend.

 

Mrs Bannerman said the PMMC should endeavour to evolve an aggressive marketing strategy to capture a greater share of the jewellery market in the ECOWAS Sub-Region and the world at large for increased foreign exchange.

 

She said there was a big interest in the jewellery products of the Company in Switzerland, Belgium, Israel and India yet it was not getting its due share of the market simply because the design of the PMMC's products lacked variety, which was the spice of life.

 

"I, therefore, urge you to come out with customer-made products to meet the demands of your clients in their respective countries." Mrs Bannerman advised the Board to arrange to set aside a quantum of their profit to support the campaign against the spread of HIV/AIDS in their areas of operation.

 

She urged them to co-operate with the Minerals Commission, Mines Department and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in their efforts to ensure that sound environmental practices in the mining industry were observed.

GRi…/

 

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GWCL loses six billion every month

 

Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 4 July 2003 - The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has launched a special operation to clear off the cash flow deficit of six billion cedis each month, which had plaqued the company since the beginning of the year.

    

Code named "operation clear the deficit", the exercise which begins in July this year, aimed at reducing the six billion cedis a month deficit to zero by the end of March 2004.

 

S.G.O. Lamptey, acting Managing Director of the company, announced this in a speech read for him at a seminar to review the GWCL/Ghana Post collection agreement in Kumasi on Thursday.

 

The two-day seminar will also evaluate the collection agreement between the two companies and review the phase one of the special revenue mobilisation exercise embarked upon by the company in January, this year.

 

Lamptey said the deficit, which was due to low revenue collections each month, had been a source of worry to the board of the company, government and the general public. He said in order to achieve the targets set in the special exercise, steps were being taken to restructure and overhaul the commercial department from the head office to the district levels.

 

Lamptey said vehicles and other logistics would also be provided to the department to ensure effective monitoring and supervision of field officers. He deplored the attitude of some field officers who colluded with customers to cheat the company and said management was working out appropriate sanctions for all known offences committed by field staff and would be applied when anyone was caught.

 

Lamptey appealed to commercial managers to ensure strict supervision of their subordinates to ensure efficient performance and increased revenue mobilisation for the company.

GRi…/

 

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