France exports to Ghana to increase this year, envoy

Ghana still far behind in exports drive - Panellists

Seminar held on Fund for the business community

Wa district farmers benefited from IFAD loan

Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 23 June '99

France exports to Ghana are expected to increase this year following improvement in trade relations between the two countries, Mr Noel Bonnefoy, Commercial and Economic Counsellor of the French Embassy in Ghana, said in Kumasi on Tuesday.

He explained that French sales to Ghana during the first quarter of this year amounted to 25 million dollars, an increase of 38 per cent compared to the same period last year.

At the launching of the France Technologies Show, scheduled for Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire from fifth to ninth October this year, Mr Bonnefoy said France's exports to Ghana last year amounted to 84 million dollars and imported 110 million dollars worth of goods from the country.

The imports from Ghana included timber products, fruits and handicraft.

The number of French companies operating in Ghana has increased from 23 in 1993 to 72 to date, he stated.

Mrs. Claude Menard, Secretary-General of the Show, said about 210 French companies are expected to exhibit at the show, the biggest to be held in Africa.

The show would focus on 17 African countries that promote French technologies in industries and other services.

Mr Kojo Yankah, Ashanti Regional Minister, in an address read for him, called on Ghanaian entrepreneurs and industrialists to participate in the show.

He said their participation would enable them to take advantage of the new partnership being developed between the governments of Ghana and France.

The launch was jointly organised by the French Trade Commission and the Kumasi branch of Club Lutece (Ghana-France Chamber of Commerce).

GRi../

Return to top

Accra (Greater Accra), 23^rd June 99 –

Contributors at a three-day lecture on "The economy after six years of constitutional rule" on Tuesday night said Ghana is still far behind in its quest to diversify its exports.

They maintained that little had changed since the 1920s when the economy depended about 83 per cent on primary commodities such as cocoa, gold and timber.

They held the view that attempts to diversify exports had rather led to the expansion of primary commodities in the form of non-traditional products, adding that this could have dire consequences for the economy in the 21st century unless urgent corrective measures were taken.

The lecture, which is under the theme "Six years of constitutional rule in Ghana: assessment and prospects", is being organised by the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.

The main speakers were Dr Kwabena Duffuor, Governor of the Bank of Ghana, and Dr J. S. L. Abbey, Head of the Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA).

Dr Duffuor said local industries are faced with the problems of poor packaging, poor marketing strategies and other structural setbacks that hamper their ability to meet demands from the international market even after they had struck contracts.

He said the advent of democracy and its attendant establishment of democratic institutions, decentralisation and elections put enormous pressure on public finances.

The Central Bank has tried to cushion the effects on monetary flows with measures such as the transfer of government financial holdings from commercial banks, the shift of aid financing from the Central Bank to commercial banks and the clampdown on forex bureaux transactions in foreign exchange transfers.

Dr Duffuor stressed the need for government to improve upon its budget planning to avoid perennial deficits.

Government also has to ensure adequate food supply all year round to avoid the "food panic" that leads to inflation.

He maintained that the economic strides made since constitutional rule demonstrates that democracy promotes economic performance rather than hinder it.

Dr Abbey, who was represented by Dr Charles Jebuni, a research fellow at CEPA, said the banks must depart from the habit of refusing loans to local industries on the basis of poor performance and rather help them to grow to strengthen the country's manufacturing capacity.

He decried situations whereby some of the government's expenditure do not receive parliamentary approval and where some foreign grants are made directly to government agencies without passing through the national treasury.

This, he said, makes the Controller and Accountant-General's Department unable to provide government with independent estimates for budgetary planning.

Dr Abbey lashed at the systematic reduction in subsidies to the education and health sectors which, he said, held dire consequences for the development of the country's human resources needed to meet the technological demands of the new millennium.

"Comparative advantage based on natural resource exports is no longer needed. Human resource development must be the fundamental base of development in the 21st century."

He said the trend of global financial flows brought about by an improved information technology network requires that African governments foster bloc markets rather than going it alone.

GRi.../

Return to top

Takoradi (Western Region), 23^rd June 99 –

The Empretec Ghana Foundation (EGF) on Tuesday organised a day's seminar on "the Technology and Enterprise Development Fund " (TEDF) for the business community in Takoradi.

The EGF manages the fund, which is provided by the government and the World Bank, to assist small and medium enterprises to have access to consultative services.

Speaking at the seminar, Mr Francis Kusi, Financial Analyst of EGF said the TEDF is also aimed at assisting enterprises to increase their efficiency to develop value-added products and provide reliable services.

It would provide consultancy services in areas including project conception, preparation of feasibility studies, operational and financial management, and assist enterprises in accessing funds from the financial sector, he added.

Mr Kusi said the TEDF would offer technical assistance in improving products to meet the challenges of competitive quality standards on the global market and export promotion through industrial design.

He said enterprises that qualify for assistance under the fund must be registered companies, with at least 51 per cent private ownership.

Ghanaians engaged in primary agriculture, trading and real estate must own majority shares, and firms with asset size of projected annual sales not exceeding 400,000 dollars.

Mr Kingsley Deteah, Western Regional Manager of EGF said small business development is constrained by inadequate funds to establish ventures or expand operations, low level of technology and inadequacy of managerial competence.

He said EGF has been providing assistance to small and medium sized businesses in the region to expand.

The EGF has supported 43 businesses with loans totalling 385.2 million cedis, under the United Nations Development Programme Capacity Development and Utilisation Programme.

In an address read for Lt Col Kaku Korsah, Shama-Ahanta East Metropolitan Chief Executive, he said the growth of small and medium enterprises is critical to the creation of a sound private-sector driven economy.

He said the government's commitment to prudent and stable policy, and the divestiture of public enterprises, have significantly improved private sector perceptions about Ghana as a place in which to invest.

Lt Col Korsah said the government is committed to resolving problems that continue to prevent the competitiveness of Ghanaian companies in the local economy and on the international markets.

GRi.../

Return to top

Wa (Upper West), 23^rd June 99 –

About 200 farmers from 15 farming groups in the Wa district were given a total of 42.1 million cedis as loans under the International Funds for Agricultural Development (IFAD) facility during the last farming season benefited from the scheme.

Giving a breakdown of the beneficiaries, Mr Baba Dimbie, Wa district liaison officer of the National Mobilisation Programme, (NMP) told the GNA that three mobisquads, with a membership of 55, were given loans totalling 12.7 million cedis, under the IFAD's food production component.

Three other mobisquads, whose 50 members are involved in the marketing of farm produce, had 10 million cedis, while eight other groups engaged in food processing, received 19.5 million cedis.

The district liaison officer disclosed that 66 women were also given 3.7 million cedis from the Wa district assembly's poverty alleviation scheme to undertake income-generating ventures.

Mr Dimbie said 30 youths have also received three million cedis, under the Youth in Agriculture programme, but called for an increase in the fund to enable more unemployed youth to benefit from the scheme.

GRi.../

Return to top