Main market index inches up, but volumes decline
Book Fair to close November 19 – Chambas
Accra (Greater Accra) 14 Nov. 2000
Ghana and Germany on Monday began
a five-day workshop to fine-tune ideas from stakeholders in their bilateral
technical co-operation agreement project to promote investment.
The workshop follows the
establishment of a German Investment Office in Ghana for the promotion of the
private sector last April.
The project seeks to improve the
investment climate in Ghana through consulting services and to discuss relevant
information obtained from German and Ghanaian companies.
It will also encourage and promote
investment and trade between Ghana and the European Union and assist small and
medium-sized Ghanaian enterprises to develop their capacities.
The Ghana Investment Promotion
Centre (GIPC) and the German government are the major stakeholders undertaking
the project to boost Ghana's economy.
The German government is
represented by the German Agency for International
Co-operation (GTZ).
Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, Chief Executive of
GIPC, said he agrees with economic analysts that the international community
had failed Africa in the past two decades.
He said more than 20 per cent of
every dollar earned from exports goes to pay external debts.
Mr Ahwoi said the only way out is
for Africa and Ghana to raise investments from current levels of around 15 per
cent of GDP to between 22 and 25 per cent over the next decade, in order to
achieve the desired growth rate.
The United Nations growth rate
target for Africa is six per cent. "Adequate financing must be found and
the only way out is to attract a massive assistance programme to sustain rapid
growth for a period long enough to allow domestic savings and external private
flows to gradually replace official aid," he said.
"It is against this
background that the German government's assistance in setting up the PPS office
becomes very significant, timely, relevant and critical to our development
efforts."
Mr Ahwoi noted that due to the
strategic partnership between the countries, Germany is currently the fifth
largest investor in Ghana after Britain, China, India and the USA with a total
of 77 projects.
Mr Peter Primus, Deputy Head of
Mission at the German Embassy, said his country has granted Ghana 43 million
deutsche marks for its structural adjustment programme.
Germany has also allocated 15
million deutsche marks for technical co-operation to promote small and micro
enterprises-reintegration.
He said the workshop serves as a
commencement of the third project of bilateral co-operation between Ghana and
Germany.
A large number of ministries and
institutions have a stake in the project. They include the Ministries of
Finance and Trade and Industry, GIPC, Ghana Export Promotion Council, Minerals
Commission, Private Enterprise Foundation, Association of Ghana Industries and
the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce.
Mr Primus expressed the hope that the
project would achieve results within the time frame of between three to five
years.
Mr Peter Wiafe Pepera, a Deputy
Minister of Trade and Industry, said the government has played its role by
designing and implementing measures, incentives and other support schemes to
enable the private sector to contribute effectively to the process of
industrialisation.
"Ghana needs to build a solid
base for industrial development, refocus on our competitive advantages and
position ourselves to fully exploit the domestic market, the ECOWAS and the
overseas markets," he said.
The Minister said currently, Ghana
and Nigeria have adopted a strategic co-operation arrangement, known as the
fast track approach, to implement the ECOWAS Protocol under the ECOWAS Trade
Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS).
Under this arrangement, the two
countries are committed to the creation of a free trade area between them and
their immediate neighbours this year.
GRi…/
Tema (Greater Accra) 14 Nov. 2000
A 30 million-dollar Single Buoy Mooring (SBM) facility to be located five kilometers offshore the port of Tema is raising eyebrows following monopolistic and certain demands being made by the operators.
Tema Oil Terminal Company Limited (TOTC), a new company, which will be established to operate the facility, wants the government to grant exclusively to TOTC a concession to design, construct, install and operate the SBM and associated pipelines.
The project, which will involve the laying of a nine-kilometre 36-inch sub-sea and land pipeline to the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), is to facilitate greater crude oil supply from large oil vessels to enable the refinery to operate at greater capacity.
A source close to the project, who disclosed this to the GNA, said TOTC is demanding that the government should agree and undertake with TOTC not to grant any of the rights and powers of the company under the agreement to a third party.
On the obligations of the government regarding the possession of site and access thereto, TOTC wants a law that will allow full ownership of all the land and sea, which constitutes the site at the time of its delivery to TOTC and the appointment of a contractor.
The source said government shall however be responsible for the clearance, relocation and diversion of all existing utilities, which may affect construction, but the design of the project shall remain with TOTC and the government can only get a copy on request.
TOTC is also demanding that the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) will not consent authority over the construction and operation of the SBM, which means the GPHA must shut up even when things are going wrong.
The source also expressed concerned about the use of the existing oil tanker wharf of the Tema port since such a project will make it redundant.
On the full ownership of the land and sea, which constitutes the site, the source called on the government not to accept that but rather grant a long-term lease since land is not sold under the laws of Ghana.
It called on the government to scrutinise the agreement properly so that Ghanaians will not be losers in the end.
GRi…/
Accra (Greater Accra) 14 Nov. 2000
The main market index, the
All-Share Index, inched up by 1.67 points on Monday after a poor showing last
week, but market volumes dropped.
Brokers expressed the hope that
the All-Share Index would not follow last week's trend when a slight gain at
the beginning of the week was eroded by losses in subsequent trading sessions.
The index opened this week up on
the strength of gains in Unilever (UNIL) to reach 851.86 points. It closed last
week at 850.19 points.
Offers dropped by nearly half of
Friday's close at 611,050 from 1.2 million.
Bids for nine equities came up to
70,700 from 100,600. Only 17,500 shares changed hands compared to 23,700 shares
traded on Friday.
In the broader market, there was
one price change - UNIL's 50-cedi gain at 1,550 cedis.
The following are the last prices
of listed equities in cedis:
ABL 630
AGC 18,600
ALW 4,100
BAT 400
CFAO 50
EIC 2,400
FML 1,100
GBL 1,350
GCB 1,579
GGL 710
HFC 952
MGL 200
MLC 149
MOGL 18,600
PAF 270
PBC 503
PZ 400
SCB 21,500
SPPC 250
SSB 2,200
UNIL 1,550 +50
CMLT 425
GRi…/
Accra (Greater Accra) 14 Nov. 2000
The Planning Council of the First
Ghana International Book Fair (GIBF 2000) Monday announced that the fair will close
on Sunday November 19, instead of Friday, November 17.
Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, a Deputy
Minister of Education and Chairman of the Council, announcing this at the
official opening of the fair, said this will allow workers, who may not be able
to visit the fair during the weekdays, to do so at the weekends and also afford
exhibitors time to do good business.
Dr. Chambas said the extension of
the period will be at no extra cost to exhibitors.
Also, to encourage more people to
attend the fair, special rates for organised groups from second cycle
institutions slated at 2,000 cedis each will be charged.
Children up to the JSS level will
pay 1,000 cedis each and adults from SSS level will pay 3,000 cedis each.
GRi…/