Tema Community One traders count their loss to flood
Privatisation of railways is viable...Dr Anane.
Ghana Association of Bankers announces Exchange Rates
Tema (Greater Accra) 11 June 2002- Goods worth millions of cedis last night got damaged at the Tema Community One Central market following eight hours heavy down pour.
A number of traders came to their shops on Monday morning to find their wares and commodities destroyed by the floods some of which are now worthless while they were trying to sort out those that could be used again.
Items destroyed at the market included about 200 bags of imported long grain rice, several bags of granulated sugar, bags of flour, soya beans, onions, textiles, clothing materials and soap.
Some of the shop owners were found drying the soaked grains on polythene sheets, and selling them in tins at rock button prices. At the time of the visit to the market in the afternoon the textile dealers were drying their wet prints while soya beans and onion sellers also reduced their prices to dispose of the socked items.
Ms Doris Darkowaa, owner of shop number J 020, whose items such as bags of rice, flour, soya and soap were seriously damaged, told the GNA that conservatively, she might have lost about 120 million cedis and said I can't estimate what others have lost in terms of money.
Mr Samuel Evans Ashong Narh, Municipal Chief Executive, accompanied by Alhaji Ibrahim M.J. Huseini, Co-ordinating Director, Municipal Engineer and the Finance Officer went round the market to sympathise with the affected traders and tailors.
Some of the affected traders attributed the floods to poor drainage systems in the market, which have been chocked that blocked the free flow of water in the drains thus forcing it to enter the stores. Earlier, Mr Narh and his team had inspected community 19 to see how the floods affected residents.
Mr Alex Agyarkwa Frempong, Managing Director of Frempong Toff Limited, who has been engaged to dredge Onukpa Wahe stream that takes its source from Aburi, told Mr Narh that his equipment has been hired to do the work.
He explained that he was engaged by Hydro Department of the Ministry of Works and Housing to do about 600 metres from community 19 to the motorway, which is the up stream of the river.
Under the contract, I am to dredge and use the material to fill the embankments of the stream, to create a water- course. This is what has saved the residents from getting flooded water in their rooms and houses.
At the Nestle Ghana Limited (NGL) but for the skills adopted by the management, billions of cedis worth of goods would have been damaged by flood, which was up to kneel level.
The finished and unfinished goods were packed on pallets in the warehouse that saved the situation. Mr David Ifezulike, Factory Manager told the Municipal Chief Executive and his team that the water drained from a nearby culvert on which the Fine Print Company (FPC), a paper producing company had constructed a building thus obstructing the free flow of water.
He said previously the NGL de-silted the culvert and therefore, did not pose any problem during the rainy season but management realised that the FPC had built on it.
At Japan Motors, the situation was not different, as the drains had also flooded. Mr Narh described the situation as serious and said he and his team would convene a meeting and find a lasting solution to the problems.
At the market, he attributed the problems partly to the traders, who throw litter into the gutters and advised against that, saying the TMA would sustain its clean-up exercises and involve all traders to ensure that the town is kept neat.
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 11 June 2002- The Ghana Government says the country's textiles and garments visa system which would help those exporting textile and garment to the United States receive duty and quota-free benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has been completed and is now in operation.
Mr Akwasi Osei-Adjei, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry told a seminar on African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and official launching of AGOA in Kumasi on Monday that the Act provides an expanded trade and investment opportunities for the export sector and it also allows duty-free and quota-free access to the United States market for over 6,400 products from Ghana and other eligible African countries.
The Deputy Minister said the focus of AGOA is on the private sector and the government was firmly committed to providing a stable political environment, market-friendly economic policies and improved regulatory environment to support private sector to be able to build linkages with their counterparts in the United States to take advantage of the Act.
"As part of this commitment, he said, the ministry has set up a 14-member national AGOA committee charged to initiate actions that will bring the benefits of AGOA to the door-steps of the industrialists and exporters".
Mr Osei-Adjei, however, warned manufacturers that the United States market was very competitive and therefore, needed to examine their shortcomings and address the problems of pricing, finishing, style and other quality standards in order to meet the requirements of the ever-growing American market.
Mr George Fynn, Senior Commercial Officer, Ministry of Trade and Industry in Accra who spoke on the overview of AGOA, observed that the government has identified trade and investment as the engines for achieving rapid economic growth and reducing poverty.
He, therefore, charged the businessmen and the manufacturers who attended the function to work very hard to take advantage of the opportunity to improve and foster economic growth and development of the country.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Kumasi metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr Maxwell Kofi Jumah asked the participants to consider the means to address the problems facing producers in the metropolis.
He said the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) efforts to bring sanity in the development and get the artisans off pavements are all geared towards directing their activities into well-organised enterprises.
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Privatisation of railways is viable...Dr
Anane.
Accra (Greater Accra) 11 June 2002- Dr. R. W. Anane, Minister of Roads and Transport, said there was "the need to re-engineer and re-orientate the railway system to operate independently without government subvention.
He said Liberalization of the railway sector tailored to suit the country's needs has been carefully studied by the government on assumption of office. Dr Anane said these when delivering the keynote address at a day's workshop on "facing the challenges of Railway Privatisation and restructuring in West Africa".
He said the push for liberalization or privatisation is a genuine search for a sustainable ownership, an admission of the obsolescence of the rail infrastructure, a legacy of colonial past.
He said it is the view of government to facilitate the transportation of Ghana Rail from its current fragmented, unprofitable state into focused, profitable commercial enterprise that is marketable driven and service oriented.
Dr Anane said many railways were originally built and operated by private sector but due to de-colonization many become public entities and pointed out that it is the conviction of the government that the Ghana Railway Corporation (GRC) could operate as a viable organization and play its role in achieving objectives of the Golden Age of Business.
He said as a result of serious economic problems facing African countries they were unable to make required investments in railway infrastructure therefore railways were unable to make any meaningful contributions to their economies.
In Ghana, for example, most investments made by government in Railway infrastructure between 1983 and 1997 with World Bank Assistance was not sustained due to high cost involved with infrastructural renewal and maintenance.
Dr Anane cited Brazil, Cote d'Ivoire, Argentina and Burkina Faso as some of the countries having success record of private participation in rail services, saying that private sector involvement will be beneficial to the railway user and also ease the financial burden on government.
Dr Anane said the expeditious translocation of cargo to points has become crucial for various reasons. These he said, include an essential need for the rail sector to play its role in the Gateway initiative and the re-positioning of the rail sector to play its rightful role in the transportation of cargo to and from land-locked neighbours which are now transiting more and more through Ghana.
Dr Anane said others are the emerging need for the conveyance of bulk oil transport inland per rail as the credible alternative and the envisaged inland port at Boankra (rpt. Boankra) for which works are expected to begin soon.
On accidents, he advised the Enginemen's Union to take good care of the locomotives by being extremely cautious when driving to avoid derailments and accidents because that would keep intact the available rolling stock that the
GRC operates.
Mr Isaac A. Oboh, General Secretary of the Railway Enginemen's Union, said railway workers and their unions, as key players must always be represented in the governmental and inter-governmental bodies, which determine railway policies.
He said government interest to expand the railway network to neighbouring countries as promised by the current regime must be pursued since rail transport is still one of the safest and most environmentally efficient ways to travel on land.
Mr Oboh said, government should therefore, play a prominent role in promoting and modernising the Railways. Mr Samuel Kokovena, General Secretary of the Railway Workers Union, opposed the concept of privatisation; instead, the union preferred the need to modernise and increase efficiency of the rail system, employment opportunities and effective planning to improve productivity.
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Accra stock index continues to rise
Accra (Greater Accra) 11 June 2002- The GSE All-Share Index, the benchmark index of the Accra bourse, gained 5.73 points on Monday to continue its recent impressive performance.
The index rallied to close up at 1,154.86 points from 1,149.13 points at the previous session. Total shares that changed hands stood at 15,600 shares, down from a high of 778,500 shares recorded on Friday.
On the broader market, the three bank equities all registered gains. Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) was up 239 cedis to close at 20,800, Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) appreciated one cedi at 2,651 cedis and SSB Bank gained 100 cedis to close at 3,600 shares.
Other equities that made gains were Unilever 10 cedis at 3,060 cedis and Camelot two cedis at 437 cedis. Market capitalisation was higher at 4,290.60 billion shares up from 4,278.46 billion cedis.
The following are the last prices of listed equities in cedis:
ABL 345
AGC 18,800
ALW 4,100
BAT 921
CFAO 60
EIC 4,000
FML 1,540
GBL 900
GCB 2,651 +1
GGL 910
HFC 955
MGL 251
MLC 250
MOGL 1,900
PAF 750
PBC 450
PZ 1,600
SCB 20,800 +239
SPPC 370
SSB 3,600 +100
SWL 285
UNIL 3,060 +10
CMLT 437 +2
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Accra (Greater Accra) 11 June 2002
Currency Buying Selling
US Dollar 7,779.45 7,961.64
Pound Sterling 11,337.77 11,604.89
Swiss Franc 4,978.82 5,093.44
Canadian Dollar 5,073.05 5,188.40
Japanese Yen 62.37 63.80
S/African Rand 781.37 797.07
Euro 7,326.98 7,491.86
CFA Franc 11.17 11.42
Naira 67.63 69.22
ECOWAS/WAUA 9,941.56 ----------
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¢6.4 billion saved from Audit of Payrolls
Accra (Greater Accra) 11 June 2002 - Government has so far
saved ¢6.4 billion from the first and second phases of the special audit
exercise into government’s payrolls. The first and second phases, which started
in February 2002 and ended in May, this year, covered Ministries, Departments
and Agencies (MDAs). The third phase, which involves subverted organisations
and pensions, have just begun.
During
the exercise, 3,200 names were deleted from the payroll, while 2,700
duplicated/multiple names were identified for deletion. The names of 7,107
others believed to be above the statutory pension age but still on active
payroll are being verified. Information and Presidential Affairs Minister, Jake
Obetsebi-Lamptey, who made this known, said ¢1.6 billion unearned/unauthorised
salaries have been retrieved, ¢3.8 billion saved from the deleted names and
¢1.2 billion also saved out of the duplicated names.
He
was opening a five-day management skills seminar organised by the Assembly of
English Speaking Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (AFROSAI-E) for
staff of the Ghana Audit Service in Accra. With resource persons from the
Netherlands Court of Audit and the Regional Training Committee of AFROSAI-E
based in South Africa, the seminar is structured around four main areas of
planning, organising, leading and control.
Mr
Obetsebi-Lamptey said the challenge facing the Audit Service staff is to ensure
that they discharge their constitutional responsibility of being the watchdog
of public accounts as the government grapples with restoring the country’s
economic well-being destroyed by many years of economic mismanagement. He said
the Audit Service is undoubtedly, the principal bastion in government’s crusade
of accountability and zero-tolerance for corruption.
He
expressed the hope that the seminar will energise the personnel to establish
their competence as demonstrated in the recent audit exercise. The acting
Auditor-General, Mr Edward Dua-Agyeman noted that past training programmes of
the service have been geared towards promotional examinations and interviews
devoid of the staffs’ individual training needs to enable them to perform more
effectively. - JoyOnline
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Accra (Greater Accra) 11 June 2002 - The Cedi continues to slide in value against the major trading currencies. According to the Databank, a local investment bank, the Cedi depreciated 13% against the Euro, 8% against the Pound Sterling and 8% against the US dollar from the beginning of the year to date. Currency traders blame the depreciation on force supply constraints.
"The cedi will dip further against the major trading currencies because Bank of Ghana (BOG) is not intervening to review the rate," Beatrice Odonkor of the Barclays Bank Treasury.
"BOG's intervention to ensure that the supply side is there to support the cedi is slow. They are supporting the market with funds intermittently, by providing forex to banks", she added. Currency dealers say BOG's support is not heavy enough to stem the demand pressure on the cedi. Dealers are also unanimous in their opinion that the depreciation of the cedi is a cyclical phenomenon.
Dealers have assigned various reasons to the continuing depreciation of the cedi. According to them, government's spending taps have been opened. Arrears owed road contractors have been paid and contractors now have funds to support purchases of spare parts, machines and other materials for their projects.
The dealers also attributed the demand for forex to increase in crude oil imports for the Aboadze thermal plant in the wake of energy crisis. Although some dealers doubt if the depreciation will feed into inflation, monetary experts say the doubt is unfounded because the money supply includes all dollar deposits. - Business and Financial Times
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