Cocoa farmers urged to retain premium quality
4bn
cubic metres of timber lost through bushfires
Lome (Togo) 17 March
2003- Ghana has been invited to hold a Trade Fair in Cotonou, Benin later in
the year due to Ghana's expertise in exhibition management and a variety of
products exhibited at the 10-day Third ECOWAS Trade Fair in Lome, Togo.
Maxwell Osei Kusi, a
Senior Export Development Officer of the Ghana Export Promotion Council (GEPC)
told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) last Friday in Lome. He said officials from
Benin, which is also taking part in the fair, were 'impressed with Ghana's
exhibition management and variety of products exhibited and, therefore, asked
Ghana to hold the fair in that country to stimulate Benin's manufacturing and
marketing sectors.
Kusi is leading a
team of officials of the GEPC to assess and interact with Ghanaian exhibitors
at the fair. He said GEPC, is mandated to organise national and international
trade development and promotion activities including trade Fairs, exhibitions
to enhance trade and production in Ghana.
He said GEPC was to
provide manufacturers and traders with opportunities for international exposure
and interact with entrepreneurs in other countries. Kusi said apart from being
at the Togo Fair to find out whether Ghanaian exhibitors had won any contracts,
orders, and demands, the Council also assess the performance of other countries
to enable it to plan strategies for Ghana to expand its influence in the ECOWAS
market.
The Export
Development Expert said the team was also to find out from Ghanaian exhibitors,
barriers, especially at the border that had to be eliminated to facilitate
intra-ECOWAS trade.
He expressed concern
about the long delays at borders in West Africa as a result of repeated checks
of goods among others, which inhibits the free flow of goods and people under
the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS).
Kusi called for the
education of traders and businessmen in the sub-region to be abreast with
customs procedures to facilitate commerce in the sub-region. Kingsley Essel, an
Export Development Officer said contrary to the ECOWAS position of the free
movement of people, goods and services, there were grievances which must be
assessed and redressed to fast-track West African economic and trade
integration.
Essel said 'delays at
the borders made trade and business slow, expensive and unrewarding' and
expressed the hope that the bottlenecks would be removed to propel
industrialisation, create employment and reduce poverty in the sub-region. The
team described the fair as beneficial and an impetus to trade in the ECOWAS
zone.
GRi.../
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Lome (Togo) 17 March
2003- Nigeria has called on leaders of ECOWAS states to be more committed and
responsive to the ideals of the sub-regional body to leave a lasting legacy for
the younger generation.
This was stated by
Chief Precious O. Ngelale, Minister of Commerce of Nigeria at the close of
Nigeria's Day at the Third ECOWAS Trade Fair, in Lome, Togo. He noted that
trade events at the Lome fair would give a further boost to the efforts of
regional integration of the ECOWAS.
In an address read on
his behalf, Chief Ngelale said, Nigeria acknowledged the effort towards the
establishment of a free-trade area and an eventual Common Market. He expressed
the hope that in the not too distant future, obstacles being experienced in the
implementation of all ECOWAS treaties would be a thing of the past when
programmes in that direction take off fully.
The Minister said
Nigeria attached great importance to the fair since it serves as an avenue to
showcase the variety of products available in the sub-region. He commended
President Gnassingbe Eyadema for hosting the fair and the hospitality of the
people of Togo, saying these were the ingredients required towards the full
integration of the Community.
Rasheed Adegbenro,
Chairman of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) pointed out that
with a population of about 120m, Nigeria has become the largest market in the
sub-Saharan Africa.
He said the mixed
economies of the country had room for all investors in the private as well as
the public sector. Adegbenro said since 1995, the Nigerian government under
President Olusegun Obasanjo introduced measures, which have a positive impact
on the economy.
The thrust of the
measures, he said are to insulate private sector participation and to attract
direct foreign investment. He said in support of this mission, the Nigerian
Enterprises Promotion Act, which regulated the extent and limits of foreign
participation in the economy were repealed and the Public Enterprises Promotion
and Commercialisation decree enacted in 1998.
Adegbenro said the
new law allowed private sector investors, including non-Nigerians to
participate in and compete with government owned organisations in
Tele-communications, Electricity generation, petroleum exploration, export
refineries, coal and bitumen exploration among others.
He also mentioned the
law establishing the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) regulating
foreign investment in Nigeria. Adegbenro said for the purpose of promoting
identified strategic investment the NIPC might in consultation with appropriate
agencies negotiate specific incentive packages for the promotion of investment.
A total of 67 companies
producing manufactured products ranging from textiles and apparels,
pharmaceuticals, body care products, building materials, food and beverages,
leather and handicraft are participating in the fair.
Research institutions
and organised private sector organisations such MAN, Fashion Designers
Association of Nigeria (FADAN) and the National Association of Women
Entrepreneurs (NAWE) also participated in the day, which was climaxed with a
flag raising ceremony.
Present were Adebayo
Yusuf, Nigerian Ambassador to Togo, Kofi Mensah Bonsu, Ghana’s Ambassador to
Togo, officials of ECOWAS Secretariat and Nigerian officials.
GRi.../
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Lome (Togo) 17 March
2003- ECOMARINE, a Consortium of West and Central Africa Maritime Transport
Providers (WCAMTP) committed to intra-regional trade integration and over-all
regional economic development would start sailing schedules in May this year.
This was announced by
Alhaji Bananga Tukur, President of ECOMARINE at the third ECOWAS Trade Fair in
Lome-Togo on Friday. He said the consortium with its head office in Lome was
formed to find a solution to the excessive airfares, long waiting times at the
airports and frequent flight cancellations in the West Africa sub-region.
It would also try to
solve the problem of deteriorating road conditions, cumbersome Customs
procedures, police and immigration check points on routes and to reverse poor
performance of Africa railway networks due to archaic technology of tracks and
rolling stocks, mismanagement and loss making.
According to Alhaji
Tukur, ECOMARINE also fills the gap created by the demise of national carriers
formerly run by the public sector and to help in finding an answer to the
noticeable absence of a dedicated feeder service in the sub-region.
He said ECOMARINE,
which is an initiative of ECOWAS undertaken by the private sector has other
investors including institutional and private individuals as a response to the
absence of a dedicated coastal shipping service to provide an integrated
maritime-based solution to the transportation problem of West Africa.
"It is the
determination of the group to make maritime transport the natural choice in the
movement of goods and people in the region by providing a customer driven world
class shipping," he said.
The ECOMARINE
President said the consortium would provide feeder services to deep-sea lines,
reliable coastal shipping and regular passenger services from Dakar-Senegal to
Luanda in Angola.
He said ECOMARINE
facilitates infrastructure development and ancillary services through the
construction of inland dry ports, identification of strategic load centre
ports, construction of automatic trans-shipment platforms for feeder services
in Lome and offer stevedoring services through the West Africa sub-region.
Professor Bigoulare
Nadjedjo of the University of Lome said the group enjoys the support of
regional and multinational institutions and had been granted national carrier
status by ECOWAS.
He said it was also
advocating for a regional Cabatage law, coastguard network and a maritime fund
for the sub-region. The group would also enjoy special concessions priority
berthing rights and was arranging for a political risk insurance of up to 90
percent of cross-border investment of $200m for a period up to 15 years against
non-commercial risks.
The host country Togo
had signed a headquarters agreement with the group and granted privileges
including tax concessions, freedom to repatriate profits and dividends tax-free
and was favourably considering stevedoring licence.
Ferdinard Assogba
Dognon, Director-General of the Cotonou Port said investors would benefit from
a premium investment opportunity, pride of place in pioneering a regional
group, tax concessions and freedom to repatriate profits and dividends
tax-free.
They would also
benefit from increased markets, production and profits, reduced transport ports
and access to deep-sea lines to enhance their businesses. He said efforts of
ECOMARINE to mobilise capital was at an advanced stage and had appointed an
European General agent, Regional Liner agents and was negotiating with deep sea
Liners serving the region for sailing schedules.
GRi.../
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra)
17 March 2003- The First Lady, Mrs Theresa Kufuor has commended the
Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) for its continued support for the
agricultural sector since the inception of the bank 27 years ago.
She noted that many
major banks shied away from the sector because of the high risk involved thus
leaving the sector limping despite its enormous contribution to the growth of
the economy.
This was contained in
a speech read on her behalf by Ms Efua Serwaa Opong, a Director on the Board of
the National Investment Bank at the 15th anniversary celebration,
fund raising and dinner dance of the ADB Ladies Club on Saturday.
She said the world's
acknowledgment of the contribution of women to any nation’s development made it
obligatory for financial institutions to assist women entrepreneurs especially
those in farming to adopt modern trends.
Mrs Kufuor asked the
ADB to also assist its ladies with managerial potentials to enhance their
scope, which would in the end benefit the bank. Mrs Harriet Wontumi, President
of the club, catalogued the contributions of women in Ghana's economic
development describing them as "unseen movers of the economy".
She expressed regret
that despite women's contributions to the Bank, it remained a man's Bank as all
board members and heads of departments were men and asked that these imbalances
be corrected.
She said within the
past 15 years the club had carried out activities aimed at enhancing
performance in the bank as well as lending support to some organisations
including Help Age Ghana, Ghana Heart Foundation and the Frafraha Orphanage. An
amount of ø21m was donated to these three institutions, with each receiving 7m
cedis.
GRi.../
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Assin Foso (Central
Region) 17 March 2003- Richard Kwame Opoku, Chief farmer of Assin Nnua-Nnua
near Assin Foso in the Assin District, has called on cocoa farmers to produce
more quality cocoa to justify the motivation, incentives and the support they
were receiving from government and licensed buying Companies.
He asked the farmers
to maintenance their farms regularly and to corporate with government to
improve the cocoa industry. Opoku made the call when Cocoa Merchants, a
licensed buying Company operating in the District awarded 120 farmers from
Breku and Assin districts of the central region for their hard work at Assin
Foso.
They received
cutlasses and Wellington boots valued at more than 100m cedis farming tools at
Assin Foso. Francis Frimpong, the Resource Manager of the Company, said the
award ceremony, which was intended to be carried out in all cocoa growing areas
in the country formed part of the Company's support to farmers.
He commended the
government for its efforts to assist cocoa farmers to increase yield. Frimpong
called on them to collaborate with the Company so that they could benefit from
subsequent support.
Emmanuel Henaku
Mensah, the Assin District Manager of the Company, said the performance of the
company had improved tremendously as compare to the previous years. He said the
achievement was due to the prompt and fair way farmers' bonuses were
disbursements and improved purchasing clerk-farmer relations.
GRi.../
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
4bn
cubic metres of timber lost through bushfires
Kumawu (Ashanti
Region) 17 March 2003- Ghana lost more than four billion cubic metres of timber
valued at about 480bn cedis for the past decade through bushfires, Atta Owusu,
Ashanti Regional Manager of the Forest Services Division (FSD) of the Forestry
Commission, has said.
He noted that
bushfires was now the most serious threat to sustainable forest management in
the country, adding that, it was severely impeding and frustrating efforts at
regenerating the forest.
Owusu was speaking at
the inauguration of the Regional Wildfire Prevention and Control Committee under
the Ghana Government/Netherlands joint funded Wildlife Management Project at
Kumawu in the Sekyere East District on Friday.
The committee draws
its membership from the Forestry Commission, Ministry of Food and Agriculture
(MOFA), the Military, Police, Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS),
Meteorological Services Department (MSD), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO).
The rest are the
Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC), National Commission for Civic Education
(NCCE), Regional House of Chiefs and the Information Services Department (ISD).
Owusu pointed out
that 400,000 hectares of the total reserved area in Ashanti had been degraded
mainly by wildfires, logging, chainsaw activities and agricultural
encroachment.
This represents about
25 percent of the region's reserved area. The FSD Regional Manager therefore,
described the launch of the project as "welcome news" and encouraged
fire volunteer squads and all people in the region to get actively involved to
ensure its success.
William Halm, the
Regional Fire Officer, called for a second look at the country's Bushfire
Prevention and Control Law of 1990, which he said, had become ineffective. He
observed that penalties imposed under the law on offenders were ridiculous
while some aspects were not in tune with current realities.
The Regional Fire
Officer cited a clause in the law that enjoins people who see others setting
bushfires to report such offenders to the People's Defence Committees (PDCs),
arguing that, since those committees no longer existed, the maintenance of that
particular clause was unnecessary.
Oheneba Amponsah
Agyeman, the project Co-ordinator, said it was operating in the transitional
zones of Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo and the Eastern regions. The project is designed
to implement effective fire detection and communication systems, provide
incentive packages to communities that reduce the incidence of bushfires,
strengthen the capacity of forest fringe communities to fight bushfires, training
of fire volunteer squads, and establish firebreaks and intensification of
public awareness programmes on fire prevention.
Barima Asumadu Sakyi
II, Omanhene of Kumawu Traditional Area, said checking wildfires should be the
collective responsibility of all. Incentive packages valued at 20.5m cedis were
presented to fire volunteer squads from Offinso, Kumawu and Juaso. The
volunteers received cutlasses, Wellington boots and flashlights.
GRi.../
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com