Mineworkers' union issue communiqué on Prestea Gold
Accra (Greater Accra) 22 March 2002 - A British consortium has been appointed by the new president of Ghana to rebrand his country and lead it away from a past in which it has been perceived as a sub-Saharan basket case by potential investors.
The initiative is unique in Africa, and president John Kufuor, who was formerly an academic at Exeter College, Oxford, hopes it will clear a path for investors to help him rebuild Accra as a 21st-century capital city. The aim is to create an impression of a country at the start of its successful economic life - safe, peaceful and where tourists can safely roam.
Ghana is roughly the size of Britain, with one-third of the population. It has environmental problems, including deforestation and drought, but is still far better off than most of Africa. Average income is double the African average at £1,200 a head, and its export of gold and cocoa provide income.
Although there are good hotels in Accra, 60% of the population still survives on subsistence agriculture in the countryside. The plan is to start in the capital and eventually to install proper drainage - 11 died due to lack of it in flash floods last year. The aim is a network of roads, schools and hospitals, and an integrated system of transport modelled on that of Curitiba, Brazil.
Ghana has recently become part of the IMF and World Bank's Highly Indebted Poor Countries initiative to write off debt and promote investment in infrastructure. The idea of rebranding is to break with the past - a prospect that previously seemed unrealistic.
Elsie Owusu, British Woman of the Year 2000 and a member of the Society of Black Architects, is part of a consortium that has won a £2m contract to rebrand the country.
This was awarded after the consortium went in for a competition to rebuild the presidential palace, a former colonial mansion. But the consortium concluded that re-building it was a bad idea. "When I discussed it with Nicholas Taylor, the developer, and the architects, the Richard Rogers partnership, we thought it would send out the wrong message," said Owusu.
"Why rebuild a mansion when most of the city lives in slums - there is even a slum area called Osu directly behind the palace - so we unilaterally changed the brief." As a result, the judging process took three months instead of the anticipated one-week.
Just how tall an order is rebranding a West African country? Creenagh Lodge, of Corporate Edge, another consortium member, has done similar things before for tourism purposes in New Zealand and Canada, and is shortly to make a presentation to Tony Blair about Wales. She made the pitch that impressed President Kufuor and does not seem daunted.
She says: "The three great things a country has to sell are itself as a place for inward investment; the idea that it's a great place to visit - by which I mean tourism. And the idea that its exports - products and services - are worth buying because of the country they come from.
"Ghana is fortunate in not having had oil like some of its neighbours; in Nigeria, we saw how it can lead to corruption and violence. Ghana is a peaceful country that has been democratic for 10 years. So ask yourself who has the better future: a corrupt oil country or an upright poor country?
"At the government level, they are very fortunate in their new president. He's impressive and stands for the values of his country rather like a company who is represented by its CEO.
He makes the future look bright. The great role model here will be Spain. Having got bogged down for years, identified as a playground for the working classes of Europe, it repositioned itself as a place identified with vineyards and paradors.
"It developed an immensely sophisticated logo that in one strike told you: 'This is not a country of happy waiters and chambermaids; this is a country with confidence in itself.' New Zealand is another clever, small country. We advised them to adopt a high-margin, low-volume approach to tourism, and it is now the number one outdoor pursuits destination. "There is an enormous chunk of the world that wants Africa to work. We have to identify it, and make it a proposition." - London Guardian
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Accra (Greater Accra) 22 March 2002 - Approaches by South Africa Airlines (SAA) to Ghana Airways to operate a joint-venture in the West Africa sub-region has fallen through due to the latter's' weak financial situation. The proposal, which was for 49 per cent equity participation by SAA, could not go ahead because of Ghanair's deplorable financial and non-competitive state.
A document titled "The state of the national airline," issued by Ghana Airways, said other airlines had also approached them with similar offers for alliances and commercial cooperation.
Ghanair said notwithstanding its weak financial position, "the current environment does not augur well for encouraging commercial cooperation and alliances with other carriers. "Therefore Ghana Airways will pursue the course of continuing to developregional operations, and intercontinental operations for that matter by itself."
It said management however, believed strongly that in view of the huge debt overhang, it would have to engage in a day-to-day fire fighting if the operational strategy and fleet remained the same.
The document noted that the national carrier could effectively exploit the benefits of the West African market with the necessary government support, adding that, " the strong desire of SAA and others to have a foothold in the West African market is a clear demonstration of its enormous potential."
Ghana Airways, it noted, could be effective and capture the sub-regional market when the acquisition of regional jets as proposed in the company's Fleet Renewal Strategy paper was implemented.
GRi../
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Takoradi (Greater Accra) 22 March 2002 - Workers of the Ghana Post Company have been reminded that postal services in the country have been thrust into a competitive environment, and that the future success and existence of the company depended on the application of technological innovations to existing operations.
Mr. Felix Owusu Agyepong, Minister of Communications and Technology said they should develop and implement new ideas that would ensure the expansion of the range of value-added services.
This was contained in an address read for him by Mr. John Achuliwor, Deputy Minister of Communications and Technology at the opening of a two-day annual review conference of the Ghana Post Company at Takoradi on Thursday. The conference, which is being attended by Regional and Sectional Heads, is under the theme; "Applying technology in postal delivery to improve quality service."
Mr. Agyepong commended the board of the company for exhibiting dedication, commitment and a high sense of responsibility to make the company "Viable, strong and reliable," even though it had been in office within a relatively short period. The Minister expressed satisfaction about the determination of the company to adopt new ideas to enhance its operations to withstand stiff competition.
He also lauded the company for the initiative to collaborate with external agencies such as the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the State Insurance Company (SIC) to expand and increase its revenue base.
Mr. Isaac Adu-Boahene, Managing Director, said the Ghana Post Company was, introducing track and trace equipment for electronic mail service and other priority mail items and install stamp cancelling machines among others as another means to meet challenges facing it.
"Efforts are also underway to network the company's counters to enable it perform more agency Services", he disclosed and said this would commence by April this year.
GRi../
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Accra (Greater Accra) 22 March 2002 - The Prestea Gold Resources Limited (PGR), a new mining company formed as a result of the decision by Barnex to close the original company, is in debt to the tune of 7.54 million dollars including five months salaries to workers.
A communiqué by the Ghana Mineworkers' Union of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) on Thursday stating its support for the arrangement reached between the government and the Prestea Gold Resources (PGR) on one side and the Bogoso Gold Limited said it saw the arrangement as a way to find a lasting solution to problems confronting the underground operations at Prestea.
"This arrangement is seen as the only option to guarantee the payment of the workers salary arrears as well as the future revival of the underground operations after the assessment period," the communiqué issued in Accra said.
The communiqué therefore urged workers and the whole community of Prestea to fully co-operate with the new arrangement made to avoid any suffering and hardship likely to occur should any attempt be made to derail it.
The new company had not been able to break even due to low capitalisation, inability to fully assess the whole operation before the take over and the continued depressed price of gold on the international market, hence the huge debt.
The communiqué signed by four officers including Mr Robert Cole, General Secretary, also reiterated the union's support for surface mining development in the country.... but said this could not last to sustain the continuous employment of members and the existence of mining communities.
The Union therefore called on government to encourage investors by offering incentive packages to invest in underground mining saying, "underground mining holds the key to the sustained and continued mineral production in the country."
GRi../
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