Distributors
unveil new range of Nokia mobile phones
Near stampede for GT one-touch chips
Tema
(Greater Accra) 02 November 2001 - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Thursday
pledged the government's determination to institute measures that would make it
easier and less cumbersome for investors to bring their ideas and plans into
fruition. He said the government would also make the processing of documents
and other facilities less stressful.
Unveiling a
plaque to commission a 14.5 million pound cocoa-processing factory, the first
company to be established in the Free Zone Enclave at Tema, President Kufuor
said the government was looking for companies that would add value to primary
produce from Ghana and urged the management of the company to use their
experience to spread the news of favourable investment climate that exists in
Ghana.
Barry
Callebaut Ghana Limited processes cocoa beans into liquor. It is the third
cocoa processing factory in Ghana after the West African Mills Company WAMCO)
in Takoradi and the Cocoa Processing Company Limited (CPC) at Tema.
Barry
Callebaut is the largest individual buyer of cocoa beans from Ghana and its new
factory in Ghana is the 25th worldwide. The factory is expected to export
19,000 metric tonnes of cocoa products at an estimated factory value of 40
million dollars in the first year and 24,000 metric tons at a value of 50
million dollars in the second year.
Mr Akwasi
Osei-Adjei, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, said the new factory would
fulfil the objectives of establishing the Free Zones and in addition foster a
functional relationship between the private sector and the government.
"It is
only then that the two could be seen as partners in the nation's
development," he added. Mr Osei-Adjei said Ghana has spearheaded the
ECOWAS Infrastructural
Development
Programme through the modernisation of the Tema Port and communication
facilities.
This is to ensure that companies
established in the country took full advantage of the
ECOWAS
Trade Liberalisation system.
Mr Andreas
Schmid, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Barry Callebaut, said due to
the conducive environment for investments in Ghana, the Board of Directors have
decided to provide an additional five million dollars within the next 12 months
to the factory to increase its production level to 60,000 metric tons.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 02 November 2001 - Classic Cellular Limited (CCL), international
distributors of Nokia mobile phones, on Thursday unveiled the latest range of
its state-of-the-art telephones designed to enhance business while offering
entertainment as well.
The
products are Nokia '9210' and '8310', introduced onto the Ghanaian market by
CCL, headed by Mr Herbert Mensah, a businessman and sports administrator. A
third product - Nokia '5510'- that was also exhibited at the launch is not yet
on the market worldwide.
All three kinds
provide a myriad of existing and planned web-based services as well as tools
for business communication just as a mini computer does. "Forgetting any
of these brands at home is like losing your head," says Ari Valavaara,
Area Manager in charge of export sales for Europe, Africa and the Gulf.
In addition
to the shared features, the versatile 1,000 dollars (7 million cedis) '9210'
range, known as "modern office" has added tools including high speed,
super navigation, synchronisation of calendar and most importantly, carries a
16 megabyte memory "thereby eliminating suitcase."
The trendy
'8310' offers variety of colour faces as desired by the user and comes with an
in-built FM radio that mutes automatically when there is an incoming call. The
telephone also offers a web-based information access without a dial-up and
accommodates up to 20 preset radio channels.
It weighs
84 grams and has eight hours of operating power time with the radio on and also
offers other standard services including Internet accessibility as well as
voice recording and playback. Its cost ranges between 4.2 million cedis and 4.5
million cedis.
The 2.5
million cedis '5510' is uniquely shaped and has its keypad well spaced. It also
has facilities for Internet, e-mail, voice calls, among other things.
Launching
the products, Mr Felix Owusu-Agyepong, Minister of Communications and
Technology, lauded the distributing firm for turning with the fast changing
times, thereby facilitating Ghana's level of participation in the global
cellular phone craze.
However,
they must provide after sales support services to customers to enable them to
reap the full potential of the products. Some 210,000 people in Ghana use
mobile phones as against 230,000 fixed line customers.
At the
launch were operators in the Ghanaian IT industry including Chief Executive
Officers of Ghana Telecom, Scancom, operators of Spacefon, Millicom Ghana
Limited and Network Computer Systems, Ghana's first Internet service provider.
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Tema (Greater Accra) 02 November 2001 - The Divestiture Implementation Committee (DIC) has initiated plans to monitor the performance of divested companies to ensure that they follow the business plans used in the bidding process.
Mr Kwasi Adu-Amankwah, Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) announcing this at a meeting of the Tema District Council of Labour (TDCL) on Thursday said the committee has recognised that it had not paid attention to the monitoring of divested companies.
He said investors who bid to acquire divested companies show their business plans, including how they would expand to increase employment as well as improve the companies.
Mr Adu-Amankwah, who is also a member of DIC said if the monitoring had been carried out at the PSC Tema Shipyard and Dry-dock, "we would have been aware of the deterioration going on there.
"Based on these facts, we could advise the government to offer the remaining 40 per cent shares to another investor."
There is the need to encourage Ghanaians to invest in some of these divested companies, adding, "We are concerned that divestiture is not carried out simply as an ideology."
On incomes, he said, President John Agyekum Kufuor once mentioned that there should be discussions on the incomes, adding, "We are preparing for the debate on incomes in the public sector."
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Takoradi (Western Region) 02 November 2001 - There was near stampede on Thursday at the Sekondi-Takoradi office of the Ghana Telecom (GT) when anxious "One Touch" mobile phone users rushed there to buy phone chips being sold at the control price of 366,000 cedis.
Many users of the One-Touch mobile phone, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that they arrived at 6.30 a.m., but as at mid-day, they had not been served.
The customer service point, built two years ago to cater for such large crowds was deserted while the conference room of the Ghana Telecom was being used as the sale point.
This led to a near disaster as the doors leading to the main reception were locked to prevent the anxious customers from entering the main compound.
Some customers complained of severe headache, dizziness and pains in the hips and legs due to the long hours spent standing in the sun.
Sources at GT said the chip was sold at 366,000 cedis being the control price, adding that the weekly allocation was not enough to meet the large demand, thus the chips were being sold to "only organisations."
The source said that management changed the venue for the sale of the chips from the Customer Service Point to the conference room to enable them monitor the sale of the chips and prevent it from going into wrong hands. All efforts to reach the regional manager, Mr. Divine Kpetigo proved futile.
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