Ashanti appoints five new directors
Industrial unrest affected tax revenue - Adom
Accra (Greater Accra), 24 February 2000
Ashanti Goldfields Company has appointed five additional non-executive directors with effect from February 22.
A statement issued in Accra on Thursday named them as Mr Alex Ashiagbor, Mr Ekow N. Awoonor, Dr Chester A. Crocker, Dr Kwabena Duffuor and Dr Michael Martineau.
Ashanti had earlier last week appointed Mr. Philip Tarsh as acting Chairman of the Board.
Ashanti has been in trouble since late last year when its hedging policy backfired with the sudden rise in gold prices sending the company battling for survival.
Five members who are shareholders of the company sought and obtained a High Court order for the holding of an Emergency General Meeting to, among other things, appoint a new Board of Directors.
The Company, the government, Adryx Mining and Metals Limited of Luxemburg, a minority shareholder which was one of those that took the court action, and Lonmin, a major shareholder, later hammered out an agreement on the concerns of the shareholders.
Lonmin owns 32 per cent shares in Ashanti while the Ghana government holds 20 per cent golden share.
Richard Kwame Peprah, Minister of Finance, who is Chairman of the AGC Board, resigned last week citing pressures of implementing the challenging targets set by the 2000 budget.
Five directors had earlier informed Ashanti of their intention to retire from the board with effect from the forthcoming Annual General Meeting on April 26.
They are Mr Kofi Ansah, former chief executive of the Minerals Commission, Mr Fred Ohene-Kena, former Minister of Mines and Energy, Mr Henry Otoo, Deputy Managing Director, Sir William Ryrie and Mr Philip M.Tarsh.
AGC said early this week that it had signed a 100 million-dollar debt facility to complete its Geita Project in Tanzania for general working capital purposes.
It also said it had signed an agreement for the renewal, under new terms, of its existing 270 million-dollar Revolving Credit facility (RCF) and consolidation of its existing bilateral facilities in a new tranche of the RCF.
Ashanti said it obtained an amendment to the agreement with its hedge counterparties under which the conditions to continue to permit margin-free trading for three years have been satisfied or waived.
As part of that agreement, the company has repriced the five-year equity warrants, issued to its hedge counterparties on 30 October, 1999 to facilitate the re-allocation of a proportion of them to the Company's lending banks as part of the overall arrangements.
Mr Ashiagbor, 66, is the Executive Chairman of Metropolitan and Allied Bank (Ghana) Limited and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research of the University of Ghana.
From 1962, he held various senior appointments in the Bank of Ghana and Ministry of Finance. He was the Governor of the Bank of Ghana from 1977 to 1982 when he was also the Chairman of the Board of Ashanti.
From 1982 until 1993, he served with the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development in Geneva.
Mr Awoonor, 51, is a Principal of Awoonor Law Cnsultancy, a corporate and investment law firm in Accra. He is a director of SSB Bank and African Tiger Mutual Fund Limited.
Dr Croker, 59, served as a US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs from 1981 to 1989.
He is currently the James R. Schlesinger professor of strategic studies at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.
Dr Croker is Chairman of the Board of the US Institute of Peace and is an adviser on strategy and negotiations to a number of US and European companies.
Dr Duffuor, 57, is the Governor of the Bank of Ghana. He has served as a director of a number of Ghanaian companies and is currently a director of the Ghana Cocoa Board and Ghana Cocoa Marketing Company Limited.
Dr Martineau, 55, is a British national and is a director, President and Chief Executive Officer of Axmin Limited and Carpathian Gold Limited. He is also a director of Adryx Mining and Metals Limited. He has served as a director or several mining and exploration companies in Africa, Australia, the United Kingdom and USA.
GRi
Accra (Greater Accra), 24 February 2000
Mr. David Adom, Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), on Wednesday called on the government and other employers to institute measures to prevent industrial actions this year, saying that labour unrest adversely affected the level of tax revenue in 1998 and last year.
Speaking in an interview with the GNA in Accra, the Commissioner observed that in the past two years, the country experienced numerous industrial actions involving teachers, civil servants, nurses, doctors and employees of a number of corporate organisations which contribute significantly to the tax revenue.
"Those industrial actions no doubt negatively affected output and profit levels of companies and the sectors involved. If companies declare lower profits, we collect less income tax."
Mr Adom said much as the IRS blames the shortfall of over 33 billion cedis in its actual revenue mobilisation in 1998 mainly on the power crisis industrial actions also contributed to the situation.
He said the liquidation of the Bank for Housing and Construction (BHC) and the Ghana Co-operative Bank would affect tax revenue levels negatively this year.
"The two banks were paying corporate tax and "Pay As You Earn" (PAYE), but with their liquidation, IRS would lose these taxes."
He did not provide figures on how much tax the two banks were paying before their liquidation.
Mr Adom said with the introduction of tolls on some roads, measures must be instituted to differentiate between that and the vehicle income tax, which is charged by the IRS.
"The road toll is a non-tax revenue, which is different from the IRS vehicle income tax. It may be difficult for some drivers to distinguish between the two."
The Commissioner suggested that to prevent any confusion between road users and the private road toll collectors, there must be some education for commercial drivers, especially those who use the newly tolled roads.
Mr Adom lauded the government's divestiture drive, saying that the move has resulted in the expansion and improved profits for companies, such as Coca-Cola and Golden Tulip hotel, with the corresponding increased corporate and employee taxes.
He expressed the hope that the government would adopt proper strategies to meet its gross domestic product (DGDP) target for this year to enable individuals and corporate bodies to make higher profits and keep revenue mobilisation on course towards the target of 1,200 billion cedis.
Mr Adom reminded the public that income tax is a civic responsibility, which every Ghanaian or persons resident in the country must discharge honourably "if Ghana is to sustain and perhaps improve upon our present level of development."
GRi
Accra (Greater Accra), 24 February 2000
The budget has the potential of creating a significant number of jobs in the country especially in the area of industry and agriculture.
Mr. Peter Peperah, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, in an interview with the GNA in Accra, said the budget has the potential to raise revenue for the poor but hard working people engaged in skilled and unskilled sectors of the economy.
It also has the potential of strengthening the linkages between agriculture and industry where due diligence will be given to the area of processing and reduction of post harvest losses.
Mr. Peperah said the potential of the budget in creating jobs could be seen in two ways.
"First it seeks to limit the preponderance of people importing items and products that can easily be manufactured or produced locally.
"At the same time, it looks at the possibility of assisting operators in agriculture and industry to develop and satisfy local and export markets".
Mr Peperah singled out the textile industry which ranges from tie and dye and batik to those that use sophisticated technology, as one area where agriculture "marries well" with industry to produce jobs.
"It starts with the growing of cotton in all the three northern regions, ginned in the same place while spinning, weaving and printing are done in the Eastern, and Greater Accra Regions".
Asked whether farmers will get any benefits from the government to expand their production base, Mr Peperah said the "the budget here is looking at special packages that will make way for the industry from beginning to end".
"This is reflected in the special 15 billion cedis allocated to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture as an extra budgetary allocation to support mostly the private sector to encourage storage and processing".
He said the concept being adopted by government is to assist areas of agriculture, where farmers can be empowered to grow products for the local and foreign markets.
He discounted the notion that the budget does not hold anything for the country, saying the Association of Ghana Industries, which represents private industry has hailed it as "very positive."
Mr Peperah said a committee is being set up to monitor compliance of agencies and departments in patronising locally made goods.
"The concern of the government is not just to come out with the policy but to ensure that the policies are actually carried out to the letter".
He said the ministry is looking at the possibility of boosting the potential of computer assembling companies. "It is no use continuing the importation of finished computers when we can easily manufacture or assemble it locally.
Speaking on moves to strengthen the private sector, Mr. Peperah said the budget is imposing special taxes on products, which are or can be produced locally, but are currently being imported to the detriment of local industry.
"Taxes have been proposed in the budget for a further increase of 20 per cent on such items as imported chocolates, mineral water, imported groundnuts and plantain chips and a host of others to enable infant industries to compete".
He said this was allowed under the new terms of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) where developing countries such as Ghana can on a temporary basis nurture their local industries by progressively reducing duties and taxes until 2005.
He said local manufacturers would however, continue to enjoy their concession rates of between 10 to five per cent.
GRi