Accra (Greater Accra) 05 March 2002 - An Information Technology (IT) expert warned on Monday that West Africa was fast becoming the haven for external hackers and viruses.
Such actions cause irreparable loss of valuable corporate information, Mr Tim Gros, General Manager of the African IT Exhibitions and Conferences (AITEC), said at a press conference in Accra to open the first national computer and information security event.
He said an annual computer crime survey by the Computer Security Institute and Federal Bureau of Investigations of United States had revealed that 64 per cent of 520 respondents in that country experienced computer security breaches within the last 12 months.
This indicated 16 per cent increase from the previous year of the survey, which had IT security practitioners in corporations, government agencies, financial institutions and universities as the target audience.
Mr Gross said the scenario in West Africa was no better, saying, AITEC, therefore, organised the event to offer participants the opportunity to check the growing phenomenon and save companies from huge material and financial losses.
According to the US survey, statistics available to AITEC, 72 per cent of respondents admitted that they suffered financial losses from security breaches, 44 per cent reported unauthorised access by employees while 24 per cent reported system penetration from outside their companies.
About 15 per cent of respondents reported incidents of financial fraud with 14 per cent experiencing sabotage of data or networks.
GRi../
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 05 March 2002 --Mr Alex Asamoah Bonti, acting Assistant Commissioner of Large Trade Control and Excise Unit (LTC/EU) of the VAT Service, has stated that VAT collection had gradually increased from 25.6 percent of total tax revenue in 1999 and expected to cross the 30 percent mark in 2002.
He said the VAT was in its fourth year of implementation and had become an important and permanent feature on the fiscal landscape of the country.
Mr Bonti was addressing executives of VAT Senior Staff Association, executive members of local union of Public Services Workers Union and executive members of VAT Ladies Association at an end-of-year party in Kumasi.
He said a foundation had been laid and it was for the staff to build on it. ''The new year provides you with the ideal opportunity for a new beginning, new ideas, new resolutions as well as new ways and approaches, relationship and attitude''.
The acting Assistant Commissioner said an Exceptional Award Scheme is to be introduced this year to reward members of staff who make outstanding contributions to the effectiveness and efficiency of the VAT office. He said the process to promote and enhance professionalism and provide quality service to all would be maintained and called for the support of the staff.
Mr Bonti appealed to the staff to avoid indiscipline and acts that would put the image of VAT office at risk. Mr Samuel Kofi Otabil, Head of Ashanti region VAT office, commended the staff for their hard work and the efforts to achieve their revenue target.
GRi../
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NDC group appeals to govt to stop harassing
Malaysian investors.
Koforidua (Eastern Region) 05 March 2002 - The Eastern Regional branch of Action Forum, a political wing of the NDC, has urged the government to stop "targeting Malaysian investors in Ghana," since such an action could send "very dangerous signals to the international business community."
In a press release at Koforidua and signed by the Regional spokesperson, Mr Kojo Opong, it said that the perceived profiling of Malaysian investors could scare away investors from Ghana, especially against the backdrop of renewed efforts by the government to woo investors to the country.
Referring to a recent visit by President Kufuor to Singapore, which shares boundaries with Malaysia, the group wondered whether Singaporean investors would be willing to invest in Ghana when "their next door neighbour has just been given the sack."
The release reminded the government that Malaysian investments in Ghana were part of a South-South Co-operation between Asian and African countries that focuses on the sharing of technology. The explained that although such investments were effected during the NDC reign, they could also have happened irrespective of the party in power.
According to the release, "if the NPP suspects that everything the NDC government did was wrong and corrupt and sacks Malaysians from Ghana as it currently doing, why should Germans or Canadians investors take over the Malaysian investment, knowing that the possibility exists for PNC or Reform to drive them away" when they win power.
It claimed that it is not the recent Supreme Court ruling on the legality on the Fast Track High Court that could drive investors away from Ghana, noting that "by the manner of their handling the Malaysian investment in Ghana, the government have sent very dangerous signals to the international business community."
The group disputed government handling of the Ghana Telecom case and asked it to re-state the real problem regarding the company since the company exceeded the number of IDD, pay-phones and mobile phones they were supposed to install.
GRi../
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 March 2002 - Members of Parliament on Monday requested the reopening of various border posts across the country, especially the Leklebi-Dafor Post in the Hohoe District. Most of the members stressed the need for the re-opening of the borders to ensure free movement of goods and people in the spirit of the ECOWAS treaty.
Mr Kosi Kedem, NDC Hohoe South, in an urgent statement in Parliament requested the immediate re-opening of the Leklebi-Dafor border post to allow especially for free movement of foreign registered vehicles into Ghana.
He appealed to the Ministries of the Interior and Finance and the Customs, Excise and Preventive Services (CEPS) to reconsider the closure since the border post was one the major entry points into Ghana along the Ghana- Togo boundary.
Mr Kedem said for some unexplained reasons sometime last year foreign registered vehicles from Togo, Benin, Nigeria and Burkina Faso were barred from entering Ghana through that post.
"Most of the vehicles which ply the route belong to Ghanaians living and working in neighbouring countries and are not aware that the border was closed to foreign registered vehicles and often travel long distances only to be turned back".
Mr Kedem said what was more worrying was that the Leklebi border was located deep inside Ghana with two towns between the border and Leklebi Dafor. He said the Leklebi Dafor border post was the shortest route into Ghana and for the people from the Central and Northern Volta Region there was no credible alternative entry point than this area.
Mr Kedem said right now the closure was causing a lot of inconvenience and had greatly impeded trade and commercial activities between Ghana and her neighbours, especially Togo.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 March 2002 - The Chief Executive Officer of the Standard Chartered Bank, Mr Mervyn Davies arrived in Accra last night for a three-day official visit.
The trip, his first to Africa after assuming office two months ago was to acquaint him with the bank's operations in Ghana. He would commission a data service centre in Accra during the visit.
Mr Davies told newsmen on arrival that he was happy to visit Ghana, which had been identified as the hub of Stanchart's operations in West Africa because the political and economic climate is good.
He said the establishment of the data service centre showed the confidence the bank had in Ghana and gave the assurance that Stanchart would develop its business in the country to help accelerate Ghana's economic growth. The Chief Executive Officer said Stanchart was committed to Africa and wanted to play a big role in her future developments by investing heavily in the continent.
Mr. Ebenezer Essoka, Managing Director of Stanchart Ghana and some government officials met Mr Davies, who was accompanied by Mr Peter Sullivan, Chief Executive Officer Africa Region, based in London, on arrival.
GRi../
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 March 2002 - The GSE All-Share Index saw one of its biggest gains during the year when it went up by 5.4 points on Monday.
The bourse, which started the year on a very slow note, has begun to sparkle and has made a string of gains during the past couple of weeks. The index gain ended trading at 978.63 points from 973.23 points on Friday on the back of gains by SSB Bank and Ghana Commercial Bank.
Change for the year responded positively going up to 2.37 per cent from 1.81 per cent while market capitalisation increased to 3,947.99 billion cedis from 3,937.52 billion cedis.
On the broader market, there were three price changes, all positive. Ghana Commercial Bank, which gained five cedis on Friday, was up another 20 cedis at 1,610 cedis and SSB Bank, which appreciated by 79 cedis on Friday, also gained another 100 cedis at 2,400 cedis. Mechanical Lloyd was up by one cedi at 147 cedis.
Total Shares traded, however, were down at 44,300 shares from 183,000 shares. The following are the closing prices of the equities in cedis:
ABL 321
AGC 18,800
ALW 4,300
BAT 627
CFAO 60
EIC 3,121
FML 950
GBL 1,000
GCB 1,610 +20
GGL 910
HFC 950
MGL 241
MLC 147 +1
MOGL 18,502
PAF 750
PBC 450
PZ 1,100
SCB 20,553
SPPC 342
SSB 2,400 +100
UNIL 2,600
CMLT 430
GRi../
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