UGM dissatisfied with local oil price increase
Ghana faces huge housing deficit
South Dayi to get communication centre
Rehabilitation of palace begins
Prof. Mills calls for legal reforms
billion cedis for development projects in Berekum
Commissioner appeals for public support
UGM dissatisfied with local oil price increase
Accra (Greater Accra) 5 Oct. 99
The United Ghana Movement (UGM) on Monday said government's philosophy of " when global oil prices go up, Ghana prices go up but when global prices comes down Ghana prices still stay up" is unhealthy for the economic well-being of the ordinary Ghanaian.
Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobby, Flagbearer of the movement, told journalists in Accra that in a country where prices of commodities are so sensitive to the petroleum regime, care and transparency should be employed when fixing oil prices.
The party was reacting to the fourth increase in the price of petrol to 1,070 cedis per litre, as was announced on 1 October. The year was started with a price of 744 cedis per litre.
He called for the full disclosure of the level of windfall profit made from 1997 and 1998 and insisted that these profits should be used to cushion the current increases in the world oil price.
"We demand that the policy to adjust prices in line with world market trends is backed by legislation that enable automatic periodic adjustment based on indisputable indices."
Dr Wereko-Brobby who is an oil and energy expert, said the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), and the Bulk Oil Supply and Transport Company (BOST), the two bodies primarily responsible for the oil pricing, are public bodies which should be controlled.
He said the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission should be given the role of an independent regulator for the pricing of petroleum products.
" TOR and BOST are fully-owned public entities which cannot be divorced from the government and must not be allowed to play the role of both poachers and gamekeepers."
He said government has not kept faith with the people of Ghana and it is about time it explained whatever goes into the fixing of oil prices.
" Rather than to admit that it has gone against its promise and failed to act in a transparent manner, the government has thrown in all kinds of red herring' excuses to try to explain away the latest increases.
"One of the key advances is that our prices are lower than that of those in our neighbouring countries. Prices in America, the richest country in the world, are among the lowest in the world. The fact is that other countries have different economic circumstances and different fiscal policies in respect of the revenues to be derived from petroleum products."
He called on government to reduce its tax on petroleum and spare the ordinary Ghanaian the "ordeal of life".
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Ghana faces huge housing deficit
Accra (Greater Accra) 5 Oct. 99
Ghana has an annual housing deficit of about 140,000 houses, Mr Alex Akuffo, a Deputy Minister of Works and Housing, said on Monday.
To address the situation, government will now service land by providing infrastructure such as access roads, electricity and water for investors to put up houses to accelerate housing development.
Mr Akuffo said this when he briefed an 18-member business and investment team from the United States, Panama, Guatemala, Bahamas and Colombia.
The team, jointly led by Dr. Kingsley Fletcher, a preacher in the US and Dr Jorge A. Serrano, Former President of Panama, is in the country to explore investment avenues in the area of housing and construction, agriculture, education and health.
Mr Akuffo said currently, Home Finance Company, is the only known company financing houses on mortgage basis but this is not enough hence the need for private participation in the sector.
"Government is, therefore, looking for private sector participation to help meet the enormous demand for houses as it can no longer fund housing projects in the country."
Mr Peter Peperah, a Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, outlined government's development goals and trade policies to the team with emphasis on the need to encourage private sector participation as an engine of growth for the economy.
He said Ghana is gradually achieving its targets with inflation rate hovering around 10 per cent from about 15 per cent at the beginning of the year, while interest rates have dropped from about 49 to 27 per cent.
The necessary legal framework in areas such as the petroleum exploration, minerals and mining, free zones and the stock exchange acts have been established to protect the investor.
Mr Peperah said government is pursuing the gateway project, which is aimed at encouraging cross-sectoral and collaborative effort to harmonise development programmes by removing impediments.
He said the divestiture programme is also on course with 210 out of the more than 300 government-owned companies so far divested and called on the visitors to take advantage of the investment opportunities that exist in the country.
Mr Richard Donu Nartey, a Deputy Minister of Lands and Forestry, said there about 30 to 45 per cent wastage in the production of timber and urged the delegation to explore the area, by using some of the waste materials for block and chip boards and provide new machinery.
He said most of the machines being used are now obsolete.
Mr Mike Acheampong, a Deputy Minister of Agriculture in charge of fisheries, said problems facing government are land acquisition, credit and input supply, lack of technology and huge losses in the agro-food processing sector.
He said out of the country's total annual meat requirement of about 200,000 tonnes, government is able to provide only 25 per cent while dairy import increases from year to year as the annual import figure now stands at 90 per cent.
The fishery industry can provide only 350,000 tonnes of the 600,000 fish requirement.
However, government hopes that these could be solved with the proper technology transfer from its investment drive to push the current growth rate of two to three per cent in the agricultural sector to between four and six per cent.
Mr Serrano said the team intends to form joint ventures with their Ghanaian counterparts in areas that correspond to their specialised areas.
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Armed robbers attack trader
Half Assini (Western Region) 5 Oct. 99
Two armed robbers last Friday morning attacked Madam Agnes Neme Mokowah, a coconut oil seller at Half Assini, and robbed her of 5.5 million cedis after inflicting severe gunshot wounds on her.
Disclosing this to the GNA yesterday, Mr Daniel Osei, Superintendent of Police in charge of Half Assini District, said the armed robbers, Famiyeh Morkeh and Kwame Soup, have been arrested and placed in custody.
Mr Osei said Madam Mokowah had returned from Accra at about 3 a.m. where she had gone to sell the coconut oil.
He said while she was preparing to go to bed, Morkeh, hiding in a nearby cassava garden, entered her room and demanded the handbag containing the sales from the coconut oil, but she refused to give out the bag.
Morkeh allegedly shot her in the left hand and took the bag but he was chased and arrested by neighbours who handed him over to the Police.
He told the Police during interrogation that he was invited to Half Assini by Kwame Soup to carry out the robbery.
The police, with assistance from some ex-servicemen, arrested Kwame Soup the day after the robbery.
In police custody, a small size cartridge was found on Morkeh during a search.
Madam Mokowah who is responding to treatment said on her hospital bed that the money was short by one million.
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South Dayi to get communication centre
Kpalime-Tsatee (Volta Region) 5 Oct. 99
Dr Alexander Ababio, Member of Parliament for South Dayi has said he would use part of his common fund to set up a communication centre to enable the people reach their relations.
He was speaking at the third "Kpalikpakpa Za" festival of the chiefs and people of Kpalime traditional area on Saturday.
The Kpalikpakpa Za is celebrated on rotational basis by the people of Kpale, Wegbe, Todome, Tsatee, Kaira, Toh and Duga
The festival rekindles the ancestral spirit of unity among the people and it is used to commemorate the historical achievements of their ancestors.
Dr Ababio told the people that he was working out the modalities of the communication project with the Ghana Telecom and assured them that communication networks would be opened all over the constituency soon.
He said the government has acquired electric poles estimated at 522 million cedis to connect Tsatee, Ahor, Agodeke, Tongor and Kaira to the national electricity grid.
Dr Ababio appealed to the people to register in their numbers when registration for voters opens next year to enable the constituency to qualify for the status of a district.
In a speech read for her, Miss Akua Dansua, Kpando District Chief Executive, said development of Dzemeni under the Village Infrastructure Programme (VIP) would take off as soon as funds become available.
Under the project, cold storage and fish processing facilities would be provided.
Togbe Avali Kwadzo IV, Fiaga of Tsatee-Kpalime, appealed to the government to provide accommodation, teaching and learning materials to the only vocational training centre at Kpalime-Toh..
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Rehabilitation of palace begins
Azuleloanu (Western Region) 5 Oct. 99
The people of Azuleloanu in the Nzema East District under the leadership of Nana Addo Ndede V, chief of the town, are rehabilitating the chief's palace at a cost of 6.5 million cedis.
Nana Ndede who has personally spent two million cedis on the palace told newsmen that he expected the rehabilitation exercise to be completed in time for the Kundum festival, which begins on October 24.
Meanwhile, Mr Freddie Blay, Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament and Member of Parliament for Ellembele, has donated electrical wires for the Ahenfie project and five street bulbs for the town.
Mr John Nat Ayimah, assemblyman for Azuleloanu-Ampain received the electrical wires and thanked him for the gesture.
Meanwhile, coconut farmers in Azuleloanu in the Nzema East District are contributing 500 nuts each towards an electrification project in the town.
Nana Addo Ndede V, said non-resident coconut farmers are to pay 10,000 cedis while non-resident citizens are to contribute 40,000 cedis.
He said he had personally donated five million cedis towards the project while stool elders would be expected to make token contributions.
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