Osafo-Mensah urges support for cassava
production
We're no longer in charge of pricing,
purchasing of coffee - COCOBOD
Ghanaian companies urged to go into
repackaging of food products
100 million dollars needed to improve water
system
Osafo-Mensah urges support for cassava
production
Koforidua (Eastern Region) 14 June 2001
The Eastern Regional Minister, Dr Francis Osafo-Mensah has called for the necessary support for the National Mobilisation Programme (NMP) to go into large-scale cultivation of cassava in the Afram Plains for export.
Dr Osafo-Mensah asked the new Director of NMP, Brigadier (rtd) Joseph Odei who paid a curtsey call on him at his office on Tuesday to consider the provision of the necessary resources to the NMP to help process fruits produced in the Region into fruit juice and other related products to create employment for the youth in the region.
He said, the region has many farmlands abandoned by the defunct Workers Brigade and the State Farms and expressed the willingness of the Regional Co-ordinating Council to support the NMP to acquire those lands to create employment for the youth.
Brigadier Odei, who is also the National Co-ordinator of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) said, the Government of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is considering the merging of the NMP and NADMO.
The NMP has identified a number of economic activities in every region and district in the country for which the organisation would soon hold discussions with the concern regions and districts on how they could co-operate to implement those plans to help create employment for the youth.
Brigadier Odei called on Regional and District Co-ordinating Councils to use their local resources to solve problems emanating from disasters and refer only those beyond their capacity to NADMO.
He said the NMP was reviewing some of the existing national code to make it punishable for people, who put up structures and engage in activities, which tend to create disasters for their communities and the nation.
Mr Akwesi Owusu -Akyaw, Director of Operations of NADMO, urged District Chief Executives to assist their District Disaster Technical Committees with logistics to enable them to undertake the needed assessment of disasters when they occur.
Mr Owusu-Akyaw called on the assemblies to support the Committees to undertake education in disaster prevention to help reduce the rate of disasters.
Mr Patrick Aniagyei, Eastern Regional Director of NMP, called for the five per cent of the District Assembly's Common Fund for Disaster Management to be removed from the contingency fund and placed separately so that it would be available when the need arises.
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We're no longer in charge of pricing,
purchasing of coffee - COCOBOD
Accra (Greater Accra) 14 June 2001
The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) said on Wednesday that it is no longer in charge of the pricing and purchasing of coffee since the sector was liberalised about 10 years ago to allow private sector participation.
The acting Chief Executive of the Board, Mr S.K. Appah in written answers to a GNA questionnaire said farmers had since that time negotiated their own prices with the Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs) using the prevailing world coffee prices.
"When world market prices are high, farmers are able to negotiate equally high producer prices. However, when world prices fall, farmers are unwilling to accept the lower producer prices," he explained.
Currently, the LBCs offer coffee farmers a producer price of between 60,000 and 65,000 cedis per 64-kilogram bag of unshelled coffee.
Some Coffee farmers recently expressed concern about government's failure to ensure the purchase of coffee produced last year, threatening to cut down their trees to cultivate plantain and cocoyam.
They said government's interest was only in the production of cocoa, and cited the mass spraying of cocoa farms against the black pod and other diseases and increase in the producer price of cocoa as enough demonstration of government bias.
Mr Appah, however, maintained that the Board represents the interest of both farmers and buyers at the international forums and continues to carry out research, supply inputs and offer expert advice to coffee farmers.
"Management staff and officers also interact frequently with both coffee buyers and farmers," he stressed.
Mr Apah said the policy of COCOBOD is to continue regulating the sector and supporting farmers and buyers through the provision of guidelines for participation in the coffee sector, provision of planting materials at reasonable prices and supply of inputs.
Other areas include advice to farmers and buyers to improve upon produce quality for export, development of planting materials and alternative cost effective planting methods as well as other agronomic practices such as monitoring of the performance f LBCs and sanctioning those who do not adhere to the regulations.
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Ghanaian companies urged to go into
repackaging of food products
Sekondi (Central Region) 14 June 2001
Ghanaian entrepreneurs and the business community have been urged to develop and repackage local dishes to suit both the domestic and international markets.
Efforts should also be made to serve Ghanaian dishes in high-class hotels and restaurants, Mr Elias Fewde, President of The EconVillage Group told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sekondi on Wednesday.
This was after 11 members of the group had paid a courtesy call on the Western Regional Minister, Mr Joseph B. Aidoo and interacted with the business, hospital and catering concerns in the Metropolis.
He said many local products need to be improved to meet international standards and specifications, adding that this could be achieved through packaging, storage and aggressive advertising.
Mr Fewde said that many foreigners do not patronise Ghanaian foods because they are not available in other parts of the world.
He said the group intends to establish pizza restaurants to be known as "Papa Johns" in the country.
It will add value to locally produced tomato and green pepper to serve the restaurants when established and also for export.
He explained that the group is looking for partners to create franchise with and to assist them to expand their business while serving as the local agents for the group.
The group is made up of engineers, teachers, businessmen, and information technology experts of different nationalities.
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100 million dollars needed to improve water
system
Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 14 June 2001
The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) would require 100 million dollars annually in the next five years to bring the water system to the level that would meet the needs of people in the country, Mr Jonathan Nii Ahele Nunoo, Acting Managing Director of the company, has announced.
He said it is for this reason that private sector participation has become necessary.
Mr Nunoo made this known when he paid courtesy calls on Mr Sampson Kwaku Boafo, Ashanti Regional Minister and Mr Maxwell Kofi Jumah, Kumasi Metropolitan
Chief Executive at their offices in Kumasi on Wednesday.
The Acting Managing Director was in Kumasi to interact with staff of the GWCL and discuss with them the general direction of the company and the government's policy with regard to private sector participation.
He told Mr Boafo that the private operators, who would be invited to offer services would do so on the basis of leasehold and made it clear that there was no way assets of the GWCL could be sold off.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 14 June 2001
The GSE-All Share Index, the main market indicator, inched up a modest 0.21 points when Mobil Oil Ghana Limited (MOGL) gained 100 cedis to push it up.
The Index closed mid-week trading up at 896.12 from 895.91 points under heavy bearish sentiments.
Traded volumes climbed slightly at 7,900 shares as compared to 5,100 on Monday.
MOGL made 100 cedis to close at 19,400.
The change for the year went up 0.03 per cent to close at 4.45 per cent.
Market capitalisation was up marginally at 3,716.40 billion cedis as against 3,715.99 billion cedis at the previous close.
The following are the last prices of listed equities in cedis:
ABL 630
AGC 18,500
ALW 7,101
BAT 550
CFAO 60
EIC 2,890
FML 800
GBL 1,300
GCB 1,600
GGL 900
HFC 952
MGL 240
MLC 130
MOGL 19,400 +100
PAF 300
PBC 450
PZ 640
SCB 21,000
SPPC 301
SSB 2,300
UNIL 1,800
CMLT 425
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Accra (Greater Accra) 14 June 2001
Currency Buying Selling
US Dollar s 7,055.00 7,272.36
Pound Sterling 9,682.28 9,985.68
French Franc 917.80 945.54
Swiss Franc 3,947.76 4,067.15
Deutsche Mark 3,077.06 3,172.47
Canadian Dollar 4,628.24 4,767.80
Japanese Yen 57.66 59.42
Dutch Guilder 2,730.94 2,814.69
S/African Rand 871.01 897.02
Euro 6,018.70 6,202.67
CFA Franc 9.18 9.46
Naira 63.12 65.07
Ecowas/WAUA 8,815.71 ======
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