GRi Business, Economic & Finance 17 - 05 - 2002
Government imposes a temporal ban on exportation of scrap metal
Government to consider mining an economic "bonus"
Ghana-Switzerland review bilateral relations
Government imposes a temporal ban on
exportation of scrap metal
Accra (Greater Accra) 17 May 2002- The Ministry of Trade and Industry on Thursday announced a temporal ban on the export of ferrous scrap metal with immediate effect. A statement issued in Accra by the Ministry said the ban was to protect the local steel industry.
It said recent reports received by the Ministry indicated an increased activity of exporters of scraps. "If the trend should continue, stocks to feed the steel mills will run down leading to the shutting down of the factories and laying off of workers," it said.
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Government to consider mining an economic
"bonus"
Tarkwa (Western Region) 17 May 2002- The government has been asked to consider the mining sector as an economic "bonus", which could be used in accelerating structural change rather than to be viewed as the backbone of the country's economy.
Mr Henry Antwi, a Research Analyst and resident Mining Engineer at Australasia Mining Economics (AME), Mineral Economics Sydney, Australia, made the comment said mining has always been sensitive to fluctuating world commodity prices.
He was speaking at the first Alumni lectures organised by Mining and Mineral Engineering Students Association (MMESA) and Students Representative council (SRC) of Western University College (WUC) at Tarkwa. Delivering a lecture on "The Changing Dynamics of Global Mining Industry and the Role of Mining Professionals", Mr Antwi said mining was becoming more vulnerable to booms and busts as economic pulsars increases.
He mentioned that, "There is therefore the need for rapid competitive diversification of the non-mining tradable sector such as manufacturing." Mr Antwi who is an Alumnus of the WUC said an omission in the mineral and mining law was causing problems to investors in the sector and stifling progress.
He said the law completely did not take into account the culture of the people in the award of mining concessions, adding "communities should be offered the opportunities to carry some equity in mineral ventures to give them a sense of ownership." Mr Antwi advised investors in the country to acquaint themselves with the culture of the people to enable them work with them peacefully.
He said globally, the mining industry has changed and therefore experts should acquire skills apart from their technical qualifications. Mr Antwi suggested that institutions in charge of the training of mining personnel should incorporate aspects of liberal arts and humanities into their programmes.
Mr Peter Amponsah-Mensah, a Senior Mining Manager of Ashanti Goldfields Company (AGC) said the mining industry required disciplined and dedicated workers to ensue efficiency. Speaking on the topic "job opportunities for mining graduates," he noted that the shift towards increased mechanization and automation in the mining industry has reduced manpower quantity in the drive for higher productivity and lower cost in mineral production and refining.
Mr Amponsah-Mensah advised mining engineers to acquire additional qualifications to enable them to work at research and development, mining administration, supply chain management, project management and other departments. He called on government and mining related institutions to collaborate efforts to train more professionals required for the mining sector.
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Ghana-Switzerland review bilateral relations
Accra (Greater Accra) 17 May 2002- A two-day review meeting on the bilateral relations between Ghana and Switzerland began in Accra on Thursday. Discussions would be centred on budgetary support to Ghana's economy, especially the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) and private sector development.
Mr Michel Mordasini, Minister and Head of Operations, Development and Transition in Switzerland said Ghana and Switzerland had excellent bilateral relations in the past but after reviewing the relations, there was the need to have a renewed and intensified relations as a result of the micro-economic development and stabilisation prevailing in the country.
He was speaking to newsmen after leading a three-man delegation attending the meeting to call on President John Agyekum Kufuor at the Castle, Osu. Mr Mordasini said Switzerland had recognised the efforts by government and the strategies it was adopting towards national development and "in recognition of these efforts we had to review our relationship to address the constraints and achieve success."
Mrs Grace Coleman, Deputy Minister of Finance, said the review meeting was to enable Ghana to learn from Switzerland that had similar economic problems and had now achieved some economic development.
She said the budgetary support would be towards public financing systems, effective use of funds realised from the highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative and support for medium to long term capital support to the private sector instead of the existing short term loans by the financial institutions.
Dr Peter A. Schweizer, Swiss Ambassador in Ghana, said the meeting was to step up its programme of co-operation to Ghana in a more dynamic way because of the confidence Switzerland had in Ghana's fiscal and monetary policies.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 17 May 2002
Currency Buying Selling
US Dollar 7,697.45 7,865.91
Pound Sterling 11,218.26 11,470.07
Swiss Franc 4,825.89 4,931.45
Canadian Dollar 4,947.85 5,056.46
Japanese Yen 60.42 61.74
S/African Rand 758.68 771.80
Euro 7,028.11 7,180.91
CFA Franc 10.71 10.95
Naira 67.12 68.59
Ecowas/WAUA 9,879.13 --------------
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