GRi BEF News Ghana 27 - 09 - 2001
Aliu re-launches First International Food and Agricultural Fair
Accra (Greater Accra) 27 September 2001 - The leader of the visiting South African Trade delegation, Dr Danisa Baloyi, on Wednesday said the only way to bridge the huge trade imbalance between Ghana and South Africa was to improve trade relations between them.
Addressing a press conference in Accra, Dr Baloyi said Ghanaian entrepreneurs have the responsibility to take up the challenge and explore business opportunities in South Africa to enhance trade and reduce the deficit.
"The effort to reduce the imbalance lies in the hands of the private sector and not the government. The government can only pave the way but it is the private sector that can bring results."
Although Ghana and South Africa has a fruitful trading relationship, balance of trade has always been in favour of South Africa.
The 46-member delegation, mainly members of the Black Business Executive Circle, held discussions with their Ghanaian counterparts on tourism, construction, aviation and information technology during the group's one-week visit. It departs for South Africa today.
Dr Baloyi said the delegation was encouraged by the healthy investment climate and was taking back to South Africa the assurance of the conducive atmosphere for business in Ghana.
"The building of blocks starts with us. It is from this visit that others will be encouraged to come to invest," she said and added that members of the group would definitely come back to do business.
Dr Baloyi said the two governments share responsibility to build a common platform for sustainable development for the people of Ghana and South Africa.
"No economy can succeed if democracy is not sustained," she added.
Trade and Industry Minister, Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku reaffirmed the government's commitment to assist investors in every way possible to bring investment into the country.
He expressed the hope that the delegation had found compelling reasons to come back and invest.
GRi../
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Accra (Greater Accra) 27 September 2001 - After marking-time on Monday, the GSE- All Share index, the benchmark index of the Ghana Stock Exchange, made impressive 8.6 points on Wednesday although bearish sentiments still persisted.
The index finished at 964.00 points compared to 955.40 points led by an Aluworks (ALW) rally of 400 cedis.
Traded volumes closed stronger at 255,900 shares as against only 7,900 shares on Wednesday.
The only price change for the session stood in the name of ALW that gained 400 cedis o close at 4,700 cedis.
Market capitalisation closed stronger at 3,886.89 billion cedis from 3,870.22 billion cedis. Below are the closing prices of the listed equities in cedis:
ABL 320
AGC 18,500
ALW 4,700 +400
BAT 600
CFAO 60
EIC 2,900
FML 1,000
GBL 1,300
GCB 1,550
GGL 900
HFC 952
MGL 240
MLC 140
MOGL 20,000
PAF 800
PBC 450
PZ 900
SCB 20,500
SPPC 356
SSB 2,300
UNIL 2,100
CMLT 430
GRi../
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Accra (Greater Accra) 27 September 2001 - The leader of the visiting South African Trade delegation, Dr Danisa Baloyi, on Wednesday said the only way to bridge the huge trade imbalance between Ghana and South Africa was to improve trade relations between them.
Addressing a press conference in Accra, Dr Baloyi said Ghanaian entrepreneurs have the responsibility to take up the challenge and explore business opportunities in South Africa to enhance trade and reduce the deficit.
"The effort to reduce the imbalance lies in the hands of the private sector and not the government. The government can only pave the way but it is the private sector that can bring results."
Although Ghana and South Africa has a fruitful trading relationship, balance of trade has always been in favour of the latter.
The 46-member delegation, mainly members of the Black Business Executive Circle, held discussions with their Ghanaian counterparts on tourism, construction, aviation and information technology during the group's one-week visit. It departs for South Africa today.
Dr Baloyi said the delegation was encouraged by the healthy investment climate and was taking back to its government the conducive atmosphere for business in Ghana.
"The building of blocks starts with us. It is from this visit that others will be encouraged to come to invest," she said and added that members of the group would definitely come back to do business.
Dr Baloyi said the two governments share responsibility to build a common platform for sustainable development for the people of Ghana and South Africa.
"No economy can succeed if democracy is not sustained," she added.
Trade and Industry Minister, Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku reaffirmed the government's commitment to assist investors in every way possible to bring investment into the country.
He expressed the hope that the delegation had found compelling reasons to come back and invest.
GRi../
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra) 27 September 2001 - Vice President Aliu Mahama on Wednesday re-launched in Accra the First International Food and Agricultural Fair (AGRIFEX) and urged local and foreign business people to invest in relevant agricultural production and processing to facilitate national food security.
He said it was unacceptable that Ghana, with its vast arable land and favourable conditions for agriculture, was not self-sufficient in food production.
"Ghana is endowed with a wide expanse of arable land capable of producing a wide variety of crops," he said. " We also have abundant, strong and hardworking human resource capacity.
"Yet the frightening fact is that in Ghana we face food shortages every year. The Ghana Living Standards reports also indicate that our farmers remain the poorest economic class and sadly our food production in excess of 30 per cent goes to waste between the farm-gate and the consumer."
Vice president Mahama said it is to help address these that the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the Ghana Trade Fair Company are jointly organising the fair, slated for December 3 to 9 under the theme: "Agriculture- A Solid Foundation for Industrialisation".
It would showcase investment opportunities in the agricultural sector and facilitate the exchange of ideas and problem solving techniques among producers and agro-processors.
It would also bring together concepts, plans, designs, prototypes, and agricultural production technologies, processing equipment and knowledge.
Alhaji Mahama said agricultural fairs represent a potent medium to demonstrate and sustain the required linkage between agriculture and industry, adding that AGRIFEX would afford "the consumer the possible and the plausible, to suggest to the producer, processor and distributor the most advanced forms of consumption demand."
Agriculture employs more than 65 per cent of the national work force and contributes more than 41 per cent of GDP. It provides 44 per cent of total export earnings.
Alhaji Mahama reiterated the government's commitment to make agriculture more productive by encouraging investment in the sector.
He said other countries had achieved food sufficiency and economic development by creating the appropriate environment for accelerated agricultural development.
The Vice-President urged local entrepreneurs to adopt suitable foreign technologies to reduce cost of production and increase food production.
He appealed to local exhibitors to fully participate in the fair and not to allow their foreign counterparts to outshine them.
"We wish to see the multifarious adaptations of the humble bamboo for human consumption by the Chinese. But let those in Ghana who have also developed this into useful form show us their worth.
"Let our UNILEVERs, Home Finance and Insurance Companies come and tell our producers what they can offer the humble Ghanaian farmer", the Vice President said.
Major Courage Quashigah (rtd), Minister of Food and Agriculture, said the Ministry would adopt an integrative approach to planning with other Ministries concerned with agricultural development to play their effective roles to ensure food security.
Mr. Ishmael Yamson, Chairman of UNILEVER, Ghana, reiterated that agricultural development requires clear definitions of crops of comparative advantage to concentrate on and achievable strategies to develop them.
These, he said, require focus, commitment and unflinching consistency of a policy framework.
He charged stakeholders in the development of agriculture to move from rhetoric to concrete action, saying: " What Ghana needs now is not a fire fighting agricultural policy, but a sustained, focused strategy which will transform our agriculture to deliver food sufficiency, supply industrial raw materials and create jobs."
The fair, which was originally launched in August 2000, was re-launched because of the time lapse and to rekindle the interest of prospective exhibitors, donors and the public to ensure optimum participation.
The MOFA would also mount stands at the fair to explain what it is doing in the regions.
GRi../
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Tema (Greater Accra) 27 September 2001 - The Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), which collects over 50 per cent of the government’s revenue, has begun an educational programme involving all stakeholder to facilitate clearance of goods in line with the Gateway Programme.
It has targeted freight forwarders, shippers, port authorities and the business community to educate them on import and export procedures, transit and shipment, destination inspection and clearance and shipment of goods.
Mr Paul Adubofour, Acting Deputy Commissioner of CEPS for Operations, told a seminar for 50 of such partners at Tema on Wednesday that clearance procedures and related customs regimes have always created some discord between CEPS and the business community.
He said some of the problems have been blamed on the ignorance of the procedures and the law because most businessmen do not seek information even when it affected their business.
It was, therefore, important for them to know about new customs regimes and the Ghana Community Network (GCnet) and Ghana Customs Management Systems, which would fully computerise CEPS' operations, he said.
Mr Adubofour said the years ahead were for trade facilitation and dedicated service and CEPS would do well to minimise delays in the clearance of goods to reduce cost to importers and consumers.
This, he said, would require the support, goodwill and patriotism of Ghanaians, especially the business community that was required to co-operate with CEPS and desist from malpractice that retard progress.
Mr John Klu, Assistant Commissioner of CEPS in-charge of Tema Collection, reminded the participants of the Gateway Project, which was to ensure trade facilitation to make Ghana an efficient destination for trade and investment in West Africa.
"It involves creating the type of climate that will draw people, who want to trade in the Sub Region, to make Ghana their first option", he said.
The task that CEPS has set for itself include reviewing its imports and exports procedures to make it easier for the business community to understand and operate.
Mr Klu said CEPS was also expected to develop and implement a programme of re-engineering its corporate structure and culture to become a trade facilitator.
CEPS was further required to implement a strategic business plan covering all required changes in regulations, operational procedures, human resource development, information technology and training for all staff.
Topics to be treated at the seminar include, the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) and customs, duties and taxes under the 2001 budget.
GRi../
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