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Sex toys available in Accra, can be bought by SMS

It appears the Ghanaian society is going through its most dramatic period of change ever, as it is being confronted with some of the facts most people within the society have frowned upon for a very long time – issues of sexuality.

The country has been debating the issue of homosexuality for a very long time and the debate is heated. And it has hardly cooled off, and now another reality of a sexual nature is hitting the society – sex toys are now available in Accra and can be bought by just sending a text message.

This is a big challenge to the Ghanaian society – a society that lives and thrives on denial.

While there have been reports of hawkers selling sex enhancing drugs and sex enhancing objects and toys, a business dealing in sex toys, lubricants and other high end sex items including bondage equipment has sprung up in Accra. This shop also offers vibrators, lingerie and wedding items for both men and women.

The business has a website displaying items on sale with prices indicated in Ghana cedis. Anyone interested in any item can also place an order online and the items will be delivered.

To clarify the legality in Ghana of this type of business, ghanabusinessnews.com spoke to two lawyers. They both indicated that they have not yet come across any law that makes this an offence.  They however promised to look into it.

Indeed, the items can also be ordered through a phone call. “We don’t have a shop, but we can deliver the items at any agreed venue and you pay us on the spot,” a female voice behind the line told ghanabusinessnews.com on enquiry.

While ghanabusinessnews.com did not ask why the business does not have a physical location or a shop, it is obvious that the owners of the business, aware of the possible reaction from a section of the Ghanaian public have decided to remain underground.

Social change is inevitable for every human society, but to a large extent, not all societies accept change so easily, it is yet to be seen how the majority of the Ghanaian public will feel comfortable with a sex shop sitting somewhere in the heart of the capital, Accra.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Bangladeshi farmers to grow rice in Ghana, other West African states

Bangladeshi farmers are looking at possibilities of growing food in Ghana and other West African countries, that country’s media has reported.

According to the reports, the country’s farmers intend to grow rice and other food grains under what is known as ‘contract farming’. The other countries under consideration are Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal.

“In the ‘Contact Farming System’ the Bangladeshi farmers will grow crops in those countries and Bangladesh will get half of the total production,” Bangladesh’s Foreign Secretary, Mohamed Mijarul Quayes was quoted as saying.

The reports cited him as saying initially some countries including Ghana, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal expressed interest in the deal and they have already made proposals to the Bangladeshi government.

He also said: “The countries have a lot of fertile lands. However, only rain-dependent crops are generally grown there. We have proposed contract farming to them so that they may allow us their lands for agriculture. We will send experts and farmers. The Bangladeshis will grow some crops round the year and train the locals.”

Apart from looking at farming, the Bangladeshis are also considering industrial investment in the pharmaceuticals, jute products, coffee, rubber, coco, yarn, garments and agriculture processing sectors of these countries, the reports said.

Bangladesh, the reports said has already suggested to Ghana to run Friday clinics to promote Bangladeshi pharmaceutical products.
By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Andah’s move from MTN Ghana to Zain won’t make much difference – Bentil

George Andah, one time Marketing Manager of the country’s leading mobile telephony provider has been reported to be moving to Zain Ghana, but the move, according to a Marketing Consultant, “will not significantly change anything.”

The news of Andah’s departure from MTN to Zain when it was broken by some Ghanaian news sources on the afternoon of Tuesday September 14, 2010 was not attributed to any source.

However, Kofi Bentil, a Marketing Consultant who lectures at Ashesi University  and is a member of the think tank IMANI Ghana, told ghanabusinessnews.com on the phone that he doesn’t think Andah’s departure will affect MTN’s operations, adding however that “it also depends on MTN and what their strategies are.”

According to Mr. Bentil, Andah has been given too much credit than he deserves. He said Andah is a good implementer but he is not the originator of the marketing strategies and plans of MTN. “He is only one person,” he said.

He argued that “George Andah is a household name because MTN is the biggest promoter and sponsor of everything and everybody.”

Mr. Bentil said MTN as a business builds its brand in such a way that no one person is crucial to it.

“Mobile phone customers don’t have any loyalty, they are looking for good services, and that’s why they have more than one phone,” he said.

He believes that  Bharti Airtel is probably looking for a good implementer which Andah is.

Wishing Andah good luck, Mr. Bentil said, “I don’t think he work any magic.”

It is unclear yet what position Mr. Andah will be occupying at Zain Ghana.

Meanwhile attempts to reach MTN officials for comments were unsuccessful, as some of the phone calls went unanswered while others were constantly busy.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Equatorial Guinea pledges two million barrels of oil for Ghana

Equatorial Guinea has pledged to supply Ghana two million barrels of oil every year.

The President of the country, Teodora Obiang Nguema Mbasogo made the pledge at the end of a four-day official visit to Ghana last Friday September 10, 2010. Equatorial Guinea has already made the first delivery of oil last August, according to a GNA report.

During the visit, the two countries signed agreements on cooperation in the areas of fishing, education, hydro-carbon energy, electricity, maritime and transport, tourism, promotion of women and gender equality as well as labour and social affairs.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana, US, Cote d’Ivoire to announce initiative to eliminate child labour on cocoa farms

Ghana together with the US, and Cote d’Ivoire will announce a new initiative to eliminate the worse forms of child labour on cocoa farms in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.

Chocolate and cocoa industry executives will join labour ministers from the three countries for the event scheduled for September 13, 2010 in Washington D. C., according to a press release from the US Department of Labour.

The US Secretary of Labour, Hilda L. Solis, Ghana’s Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, E. T. Mensah, and Cote d’Ivoire’s Minister of Public Service and Employment, Emile Guirieoulou will be joined by other members of the US Congress to announce the project which is meant to address the situation in the two countries.

Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire supply more than half of the world’s cocoa.

According to the release the plan supports the Harkin-Engel Protocol, an international agreement signed in September 2001 aimed at ending child labor in the production of cocoa.

When allegations of child labour on cocoa farms in Ghana were being made some years back, the Vice President, John Mahama refuted the allegations. He said, “I wish to state that Ghana is a signatory to the various conventions on Child and Forced Labour and would never allow any infractions especially in a prime sector such as cocoa.”

He made these remarks at the launch of cocoa products manufactured by Cargill Ghana Limited (CGL) at Tema on September 9, 2009.

“Rural farm families own small cocoa farms usually planted on family lands or rented through traditional land tenure systems…Minors accompany their parents to farm as part of their social acculturation,” he said.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana sets up committee to fight cocoa smuggling as country loses about $340m

Ghana’s major cash crop is cocoa, but the country seems to be losing badly needed foreign exchange from cocoa export as smugglers have become unrelenting in sneaking the product out of the country.

In a telephone interview with ghanabusinessnews.com, Dr. Yaw Adu Ampomah, Deputy CEO of the COCOBOD, the national regulator of the cocoa industry estimated that between 80,000 metric tons to 100,000 metric tons of cocoa is smuggled out of the country every year and that, he said, based on the current price of cocoa amounts to a loss of between $300 million to $340 million to Ghana.

To deal with the problem of smuggling, he told ghanabusinessnews.com that a committee involving major stakeholders has been formed and it is “working on the ground to kill it.”

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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India has not given up on Ghana’s oil and gas

India is not standing by while the US and China scramble for Ghana’s new found natural resource, oil.

When Kosmos Energy first put up its stake in Ghana’s major oil field, the Jubilee Oil field for sale, India was one of the countries that declared its intention to buy.

In December 2009, India offered to pay about $4 billion for Kosmos Energy’s stake in the field.

India’s Oil Minister, Murli Deora was reported by the Times of India as making a renewed push to open doors for Indian state-run firms in Ghana’s oil industry. He made offers to invest in building new refineries in return for gas and equity in oil fields in Sudan as ONGC Videsh is vying for a stake in a lucrative acreage in Ghana, according to the report.

That interest has been emphasized during the visit to Ghana by Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma even though Kosmos has cancelled the sale. While in Ghana, the Minister has pitched more tie-ups between ONGC Videsh (OVL), the overseas exploratory and acquisition arm of the state-run Indian upstream major, and oil companies in Ghana.

He is in Ghana as part of India’s “Focus Africa” policy. At a meeting with Ghana’s president, John Evans Atta Mills he asked that Ghana should ensure gas supply for a 1.15 million tonne per annum ammonia-urea fertiliser plant in India, which is being built at a cost of $1 billion. The project is expected to be completed by 2014.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana asked to set up oil spillage response fund

A call has been made for Ghana to set up an oil spillage response fund, to address the impact of oil spillage in the country as commercial production of oil is about to begin this year.

The Daily Graphic reports Dr. Thomas Akabzaa of the Department of Earth Science of the University of Ghana, Legon as saying at a workshop on oil and gas that considering the devastating effects of oil spillage, there was the need to include the creation of the fund in the Petroleum Exploration Bill. He made the point citing the recent spillage caused by BP in the Gulf of Mexico in the US.

Dr. Akabzaa urged that instead of the euphoria over an emerging oil economy, which is creeping to an explosive level, Ghanaians should rather be sober and reflect on more critical issues that would ensure maximum benefits from the “black gold”, he said.

He said the country should focus on formulating strong legislation that would help yield the desired benefits and not focus too much on the revenue to be derived from the oil production. He called for the strengthening of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to enable it measure up to the environmental challenges that the oil industry would pose.

Ghana’s Jubilee oil field is said to be the largest oil field to be discovered in West Africa in the last 10 to 15 years and commercial production of oil is due to begin in the field in November or December 201o.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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We will deliver the oil on schedule – Tullow

Mr Dai Jones, President and General Manager of Tullow Oil, has said the scheduled production of oil from the jubilee fields by December this year, would never fail.

“We have promised the people and government of Ghana that we will deliver crude oil before the end of the year.” he emphasized. “All the necessary measures have been put in place to ensure the smooth flow of oil.”

Mr Jones was responding to the appeal of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, to the management of Tullow Oil Company to strive to surmount all challenges and stay on schedule in the production of the country’s first oil in commercial quantities.

He had led a 19-member delegation to pay a courtesy call on the Asantehene at the Manhyia Palace, on Thursday.

The  Asantehene said it was the hope of the entire Ghanaian society that the discovery of oil in commercial quantities and its subsequent production in the latter part of this year, would help ease some of the infrastructural and poverty challenges of the majority of the people.

It was, therefore, important for the management of Tullow Oil, he said, to ensure that all the challenges that may delay production were removed to ensure the smooth flow for the benefit of the people.

Otumfuo Osei-Tutu said the government was currently holding discussions with all stakeholders on the effective and efficient utilization of the oil revenue and expressed the hope that its timely production would help the government to provide the needed social amenities for the benefit of the people.

He commended Tullow Oil for investing in Ghana and charged the management to offer them training in the oil industry so that the local workers would get the needed experiences to take up higher responsibilities.

Among the delegation were Dr Toni Aurbynn, Director, Corporate Affairs and Mr Kofi Esson, Chief of Staff.

Source: GNA

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India wants investment protection agreement with Ghana signed early

India wants a treaty with Ghana to protect each country’s investments signed quickly.

The Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry, Anand Sharma made the appeal to Ghana’s Minister of Finance, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor in Accra. Sharma is in Ghana pursuing India’s “Focus Africa” policy. The policy is aimed at exploring new markets in Africa.

In 2002 Ghana and India agreed on a bilateral treaty aimed at protecting and promoting  each country’s investments in  their countries. The treaty was one of four others initiated when President J. A. Kufuor visited India in August 2002. One of the agreements led to the establishment of the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT.

The Indian Commerce and Industry Minister said in a statement that an early conclusion of the agreement was essential for elevating the trade and economic engagement between the two countries.

In March 2010, the Indian media reported during a visit to that country by Vice President John Mahama that Indian businesses operating in Ghana have altogether invested $277 million in six projects in the country.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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EC bans two cargo airlines from Ghana over safety concerns

The European Commission (EC) today banned two airlines from Ghana.

The EC announced the ban in a press statement and airlines from other countries were included. There were carriers from 17 countries and 278 companies in total.

The two airlines from Ghana which are all cargo planes are Meridian Airways which has been fully banned and Airlift International which has restrictions placed on its operations.

According to the statement, “Meridian Airways from Ghana is included in the list of banned airlines as a consequence of a series of very poor results from inspections involving not only their aircraft but also facilities used by the airline in the EU.”

The publication of the list of banned passenger and cargo airlines to the EU is a routine exercise and this is done when the EU member countries do not find these airlines safe enough.

The EU’s updated list has five individual carriers whose operations are fully banned in the European Union – Afghanistan (Ariana Afghan Airlines), Surinam (Blue Wing Airlines), Ghana (Meridian Airways), Cambodia (Siem reap Airways International) and Rwanda (Silverback Cargo Freighters). All carriers from 17 countries – 278 companies in total – are banned: Angola, Benin, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, (with the exception of three carriers which operate under restrictions and conditions), Indonesia (with the exception of six carriers from which the restrictions have been fully removed), Kazakhstan (with the exception of one carrier which operates under restrictions and conditions), the Kyrgyz Republic, Liberia, Philippines, Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Sao Tome and Principe, Sudan, Swaziland and Zambia. There are ten carriers allowed to operate under restrictions and conditions – Kazakhstan (Air Astana); the Democratic People Republic of Korea (Air Koryo); Ghana (Airlift International); Comores (Air Service Comores); Gabon (Gabon Airlines, Afrijet and SN2AG); Iran (Iran Air); Angola (TAAG Angola Airlines); and Ukraine (Ukrainian Mediterranean Airlines).

Attempts by ghanabusinessnews.com to find out from the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority officials if they were aware of such a ban were unsuccessful. When we made a phone call, we were transferred from one office to the other, and at one point the line went dead.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Africa Confidential alludes to politics in Ghana’s cancellation of Kosmos-ExxonMobil deal

The West is encouraging democracy, freedom of association and choice but not when it comes to other developing countries’ oil. And in the case of Ghana, both some politicians in the West  and the Western media are showing how much interested they are in the country’s nascent oil industry, and so are not interested in Ghanaians making choices for themselves.

The London-based Africa Confidential is the latest to wade into the botched Kosmos Energy-ExxonMobil Jubilee deal, with an article suggesting politics behind the cancellation of the deal.

The two Texas-based oil companies had signed a secret deal in which Kosmos was selling its stake in Ghana’s largest oil field, the Jubilee field, which according to the major stakeholder, Tullow Oil contains 1.5 billion barrels of oil and has 17 wells.

The government of Ghana which is a partner in the field, saw something wrong with the deal and exercised its prerogative by refusing to endorse the secret deal, which it said was in violation of the terms of agreement binding the partners in Jubilee.

But a section of the Western media, particularly, the right-wing American media would have non of it and has been bad-mouthing Ghana for a while now. Surprisingly, the respected African Confidential has joined in the melee to seek to sully Ghana’s hard won international reputation.

Interesting development, it looks like coming in the heels of the controversial Standard and Poor’s downgrading of Ghana’s credit worthiness.

In the August 27, 2010 issue, the publication wrote “The announcement on 17 August by ExxonMobil that it is abandoning its campaign to buy a 23.5% stake in the Jubilee field, Africa’s biggest offshore oil field, is likely to precipitate a bid by the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), backed by the China Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), Africa Confidential has learned.

Although some interpret the move as another tactical victory for China against big Western oil companies, ExxonMobil’s problems are due more to Ghana politics than geopolitics.”

The government of Ghana officials have indicated that Kosmos breached the terms of agreement binding stakeholders in the Jubilee field by opening its data room to ExxonMobil. According to these officials, any one member in the partnership who intends to sell its stake must first open its data room to other members of the consortium.  It is only when the member or members fail to buy or are unable to buy the stake that an outsider would be invited.

While the issue was still being discussed after the government of Ghana refused to endorse the deal between Kosmos and ExxonMobil, Kosmos reportedly apologized to the Ghana government in March.  What Kosmos apologized about is still not known.

Dr. Joe Oteng-Adjei, Energy Minister told the Dow Jones Newswires on the sidelines of an oil conference, “They sat down with the president and said they were sorry.” He did not say what Kosmos was sorry for.

The allusions of Africa Confidential to political reasons is hard to tell, even though the publication dragged in the EO Group and its association with former President Kufuor.

It writes, ExxonMobil’s entreaties to Accra have dragged on since last September, when a top delegation of the company surprised President Atta Mills, then in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, by telling him its company had secured a 23.5% stake of the Jubilee field in secret negotiations with Kosmos.

This infuriated GNPC officials, at loggerheads with Kosmos. Moreover, the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) is deeply suspicious of Kosmos’s local partner, EO Group, which brought the company to Ghana and secured from it a 3.5% stake in the West Cape Three Points block (AC Vol 51 No 15).

EO’s directors, George Owusu and Kwame Bawuah-Edusei, are supporters of the opposition New Patriotic Party and close to former president John Kufuor. They stood to gain $200-300 million if Kosmos was able to sell its stake to ExxonMobil. NDC officials were convinced that a substantial part of this would find its way into the NPP’s campaign coffers before the 2012 elections.

Ghanaian officials call Kosmos’s deal with EO Group ‘the original sin’. They see the association as politically tainted and question why Kosmos was able to secure fiscal terms that were $3.8 bn. better on its West Cape Three Points field in 2004 than the terms secured a year later by its counterpart, Ireland’s Tullow Oil, on Deepwater Tano, an adjacent field of similar prospectivity, it added among other things.

While the a section of the interested parties in the West including sections of the media believe in protecting their parochial interests, the Ghana government has a responsibility to Ghanaians, and must do whatever it takes to protect that interest.

Commercial production of oil is due to begin in November or December this year, and but already it looks like for some interest groups in the West, the stakes are higher!
By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Land grabbing for biofuels hits Ghana, other African countries – Report

There appears to be a gradual but ominous attempt to turn Africa into the production centre of some selected food crops and non-food crops for the production of biofuels to feed industry and vehicles in Europe.

A recent detailed report by the environmental group, Friends of the Earth International shows that large tracts of land are being acquired in some African countries including Ghana, by local and multinational companies to produce crops for biofuel for export to Europe.

According to the report, a third of the land sold or acquired in Africa, some five million hectares is intended for fuel crops.

The report profiles land-grab cases that have happened in 11 African countries, most of which is being used or intended to be used to grow biofuel crops like Jatropha and palm oil.

The report cited A UN FAO study in 2009 that looked at land allocations in five sub-Saharan countries: Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, Mali and Sudan.

The report it said found documented evidence that 2.4 million hectares of land had been transferred in land deals (of more than 1,000 ha) since 2004. This land was destined for food and fuel production, with considerable areas designated for fuel crops in Ethiopia, Madagascar and Ghana.

A separate report it cited indicated that A separate study by the International Food Policy Research Institute estimated that 20 million hectares of land have been sold since 2006 in land deals, with 9 million hectares acquired in Africa.

Of this, almost five million hectares – an area bigger than the Netherlands – are reportedly intended for agrofuel, including  Jatropha, oil palm and sweet sorghum, the report said.

According to the report, the sudden interest in land appears to be driven by a combination of factors, but concerns about food security and fuel supplies dominate.

The sharp rise in food prices in 2007 and 2008 and the volatile oil price appear to have led a number of countries to question the security of supply, with fears exacerbated by expectations of how climate change will affect agriculture in years to come, it added.

The report indicated further that concerns about energy supply appear to be a key driver behind the demand for agrofuel crops – with the EU aiming for 10% of transport fuel to come from “renewable” sources by 2010. These EU targets have established a clear market – which given land prices and the lack of available land within the EU will inevitably be met by imports.

In Ghana there are companies from Brazil, Italy, Norway, Israel, China, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium and India that are cultivating fields in the Volta, Brong Ahafo, Ashanti, Eastern and the Northern regions of Ghana. The main non-food crop that these companies are planting is Jatropha to be processed into biofuel for export.

One of the companies, Agroils of Italy is cultivating Jatropha on 10,000 hectares of land in Yeji in the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana for biofuels.

Israeli company, Galten has acquired 100,000 hectares of land and an Indian company had requested for 50,000 hectares of land from the Ghana Investment Promotion Council (GIPC), to cultivate Jatropha.

A company from the Netherlands has started a pilot project on 10 acres in the northern region and the Chinese are also doing a pilot project.

Gold Star Farms Ltd. Says it has available five million acres of land to plant Jatropha for the production of biofuels for export.

A Norwegian company ScanFuel Ltd., has started operations in the Asante Akim North District in the Ashanti region to produce biofuel. The company aims to start initial cultivation of Jatropha seeds on 10,000 hectares of land.

The company which has a Ghanaian subsidiary, ScanFuel Ghana Ltd., says its Ghanaian unit has contracted about 400,000 hectares of land, with up to 60% reserved for biofuel production, “not less” than 30% for food production and the remainder for biodiversity buffer zones.

Another Norwegian company, Biofuels Africa Ltd., the only one among the about 20 biofuels companies cultivating Jatropha which says it has received an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) permit from Ghana’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which covers 23,762.45 hectares of its project area is operating in two locations.

Steinar Kolnes, CEO, Co-founder and director of BioFuel Africa Limited has told ghanabusinessnews.com by email that the company is operating in two locations in Ghana. The company has a 300 hectare test farm in Sogakope in the Volta region and a 10,696.32 hectares in Yendi in the Northern region. He said the company has planted a total of 660 hectares of Jatropha.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana asked to invest oil revenue in infrastructure development

Mr Kyle Whitehill, Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Ghana has urged government to ensure that revenue to be derived from the emerging oil industry is used for infrastructure development.

“The oil sector has the capacity to sustain accelerated development of the country, “he added.

Mr Whitehill said that he was optimistic of a full push for key infrastructural development using oil revenue adding it would be a major way of working to change the face of financing development plans.

A statement issued in Accra on Wednesday and signed by Victoria Osafo, Director of Media Relations, Vodafone, said Mr Whitehill was speaking at the Second Graphic Communications Group Roundtable Forum aimed at promoting vibrant policy discourse in Ghana, in Accra.

He spoke on the subject “Promoting Vibrant Policy Discourse in Ghana” on the theme: “Ghana’s Emerging Oil Economy: Prospects and Challenges”.

The Vodafone Ghana, the nation’s total telecommunications solutions provider, is this year’s Lead Sponsor supported by GOIL, Merchant Bank, Metro TV, SIC and International Marine and Protective Coatings.

Mr Whitehill indicated that he believed Ghana needed a huge infrastructural investment, especially, in providing quality contemporary roads and a total transport system that would, seamlessly, connect the people and various communities in Ghana.

“The Ghanaian economy is going to see the birth of enormous economic opportunities; but the current public infrastructure would not be able to support what we are about to see in Ghana,” he added.

He congratulated Ghana for developing a strong economy with the knack to drive the financial strength of the country, regardless of obvious difficulties that other African countries faced.

“Ghana deserves a lot of commendation for the hard work and resilience, over the years, to get to this stage where the country would very soon be called a member of the Oil Producing and Exporting Countries. We are all proud, indeed, of Ghana.”

Mr Whitehill was quick to add that with Ghana turning into an oil economy, “there is a huge expectation from the entire world as well as the people of Ghana for government to make this opportunity count for its people and the entire economy”.

He noted that the telecom industry had a cardinal role to play as Ghana embarked on this journey by creating a robust investment in modern technology to meet the total communication needs of the country and operations of the giant companies that would drive the oil and gas industry.

“Vodafone has already started responding to these needs. We have invested and continue to invest in delivering mobile voice and data, fixed data, voice and video across the oil and gas community,” he added.

Mr Whitehill said Vodafone was making strenuous efforts to transform fixed line services with new technology to provide first class services at the western corridor of the country.

“On Fibre, we are introducing a new technology to make it more robust, more reliable, faster and less-prone to cuts for 24/7 unbreakable services as we upgrade our Multiprotocol Layer Switch for the benefit of the oil and gas industry,” he noted, adding that, “all of these investment would also benefit other sectors of the economy,” he said.

Mr Whitehill said its Enterprise Unit was currently providing one stop telecommunication solutions for the mining sector of the country; “therefore we have a testimony to rely on.”

Source: GNA

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GJA to set up fund for members’ welfare

The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) is setting up a fund for the welfare of its members, the Association has revealed in Accra.

The General Secretary of the GJA, Bright Blewu made the revelation during discussions on the poor conditions of service of journalists in the country at the Ethical Journalism Initiative Seminar organized by the Association Monday August 23, 2010.

He said the GJA has already opened an account and would soon launch the fund raising efforts.

Mr. Blewu in an interview with ghanabusinessnews.com, said corporate Ghana should support the media to do its work through this initiative. He argued that by supporting the work of journalists through the Association “it can’t be said that the work of journalists would be influenced.” Instead, he said, “the media would be strengthened to do its work.”

During the 15th GJA Awards event last Saturday, concerns were raised by various speakers about the quality of journalism in the country, and one of the factors contributing to the situation was attributed to poor salaries of journalists. Other factors mentioned include poor training, lack of mentoring in the newsroom, media ownership and inducements by interest groups and individuals.

Speaking at the seminar, Aidan White, the Secretary General of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) called on journalists to pursue the three core values of the profession: to tell the truth, be independent and do no harm.

He urged journalists not to be “the voice box of any interest groups, but serve the people.” Mr. White told journalists to consider the consequences of their stories before they published and he encouraged the forging of new partnerships and dialogue to enable them to do their work.

There was consensus at the seminar that even though the media in Ghana is the freest in Africa, journalists have generally not lived up to expectations.

The call was made for standards that must be enforced.

At the end of the seminar a decision was reached to form a Committee on Ethical Journalism Initiative in the country.

According to Mr. Blewu, the Committee will be formed with representatives of the GJA’s corporate members. The Association has plans to embark on a corporate membership drive in 2011. Corporate membership is open to media organizations.

“This way,” he says, “ethical values of the profession can be enforced.”
By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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HP’s technology boosts Ghanaian innovation in fake drug detection

The innovation by Ghanaian entrepreneur, Bright Simons to detect fake drugs gets a major boost as one of the world’s leading IT companies, Hewlett Packard develops its technology and security infrastructure.

The innovation known as mPedigree uses the text message system of the mobile phone to help consumers check if the drug they are buying is fake or genuine.

The system assigns a unique code to genuine drugs, printed on the back of medicine blister packs under a sheet that is scratched off.

When a customer sends a text message to a short code, an instant “OK” response is received indicating if the drug is registered and thus real. It also sends additional information like the drug’s manufacturer and expiry date.

If the drug is not registered and potentially fake, people receive a text message that says “No. Please recheck code.” The system is free for consumers and is paid for by pharmaceutical companies and governments.

Bright Simons told ghanabusinessnews.com that HP’s involvement with mPedigree “underscores the world class calibre of the programme.” Adding “HP is the world’s largest telecom company with the largest technology in health and they are widely trusted by the pharmaceutical industry.”

He believes that HP’s extensive track record in authentication is a plus for mPedigree.

The Nigerian government has already decided to use the technology on all medicines in the country. Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have all expressed interest in using the technology.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghanaian media asked to expose corruption as it is corrosive of democracy

The media in Ghana has been called upon to work to expose corruption because it is corrosive to development and democracy.

Speaking at the15th Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Awards, Aidan White, the Secretary General of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), also asked Ghanaian journalists to lead the struggle for tolerance and pluralism.

Mr. White said the media must strengthen standards of transparency and accountability, warning that if the media is corrupt, democracy will be flawed.

The theme for the event was “Unethical Journalism and Corruption in the Media: A Danger to Democracy,”

He expressed concern about the fact that journalism is not about freedom of speech, where any one with a pen, microphone or access to the internet could write and publish anything, “journalism,” he said, “is about restrained, constrained truth.” He argued that journalism should be practiced by trained professionals guided by the rules and standards of the profession.

Mr. White said journalists are poorly paid which makes them succeptible to corruption and urged media owners and employers to improve on the salaries they pay to journalists.

Making his presentation, the president of the GJA, Ransford Tetteh, said the media in Ghana has a long way to go to fulfil the expectations of the Ghanaian public. He said the media’s mistakes have been irritating to the public.

The Minister of Information John Tia Akologu in his presentation gave the assurance that government is willing to support the GJA to weed out charlatans who are bringing journalism into disrepute , urging that when journalists write about corruption, it must be based on the national interest.

He also shared concerns about the poor salaries of Ghanaian journalists.

On the awards, Samuel Agyemang of Metro TV, a private TV station won the Journalist of Year Award. And for his prize he gets a plaque, certificate, a laptop, and a GH¢42,000 package which includes a trip to the United States.

The following are the other award winers:

News Reporting TV – Portia Solomon (TV3)

News Reporting Print – Francis Tuffour (Ghanaian Times)

News Reporting (Radio) – Evans Mensah (Joy FM)

Features (Radio)- Kingsley Obeng Kyere (GBC)

Features (TV) – Samuel Agyemang (Metro TV)

Features (Print) – Doreen Allotey (Daily Graphic)

Investigative Reporting – Pete Dela Tenge (Metro TV)

Sports Reporting – Maurice Quansah – (Daily Graphic)

Arts, Entertainment and Domestic Tourism – Kofi Akpabli – Freelance

Photo Journalism – Gabriel Ahiabor (Daily Graphic)

Business, Finance and Economic Reporting – Edward Nyarko (GTV)

Small and Micro Scale Enterprises – Esther Awuah – (Business Guide)

Environment – Emelia Abbey (Daily Guide)

Health Reporting – Lucy Adoma Yeboah – (Daily Graphic)

HIV/AIDS Reporting – Gertrude Anka – (Ghanaian Observer)

Development Journalism for advancing MDGs – Portia Solomon – (TV3)

Rural Reporting – Samuel Akapule – (GNA)

Crime and Court Reporting – Kingsley Hope – (Ghanaian Times)

Hygiene and Sanitation – Dzifa Azumah (GNA)

Disability Reporting – Issah Shaibu – (GBC)

Telecommunications – Samuel Dowuona (GNA)

Anti-Corruption – Anas Aremeyaw Anas (New Crusading Guide)

Education – Isabella Owusu-Oppong – (GTV)

Features – Vicky Wirekoh Andoh – (Daily Graphic)

Cartoonist – Akosua – (Daily Guide)

Best Layout and Design newspaper – (Daily Graphic)

Best Rural Radio Station – Radio Peace (Winneba)

Human Rights – Sunrise Radio (Koforidua)

Democracy and Peace – (Citi FM)

Best Radio Programme in Akan –  (Peace FM)

Best Radio Programme in Dagbane – Diamond FM – (Tamale)

Best Radio Programme (Talk) – Obonu FM.

Multimedia Broadcasting Limited and Peace FM were given honourary awards. Aidan White of the IFJ was given a special award by the GJA for his contributions to global journalism.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Bank of Ghana responds to misconceptions about non-resident Ghanaians investing in Treasury Bills

The Bank of Ghana has responded to what it describes as ‘misconceptions’ to the effect that non-resident Ghanaians/Ghanaian investors cannot invest in Government of Ghana Treasury Bills.

In a press release issued Thursday August 19, 2010 and copied to ghanabusinessnews.com, the central bank set out to correct the erroneous impression. According to the release, Ghanaian investors resident offshore can continue to invest in Government Treasury Bills.

The Bank however clarified the issue of repatriation of proceeds from investments. It said however, where a non-resident investor, having sent funds from offshore, requires that the proceeds of the investment (that is, interest and maturity value) be REPATRIATED offshore, then they are restricted to the purchase of Government Securities with tenor of three (3) years and above. Adding that “for emphasis, where a non-resident investor requires that his/her investment proceeds be repatriated, then the investment can only be in instruments with tenors of three years (3) and above, such as the 3-year or 5-year bond.”

The Bank further explained that a Ghanaians abroad who invest in 91-day, 182-day Treasury Bills and the 1-year and 2-year Government Treasury Notes do have accounts in the Ghana into which proceeds from these are credited, this the bank said has not changed.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Venture Capital Fund injects GH¢21.5m into Ghanaian economy

The Venture Capital Trust Fund (VCTF) has invested GH¢21.5 million into Ghana’s economy since 2006, the GNA quotes an official of the Fund as saying.

A Senior Investment Analyst of the Fund, Percival Ampomah said a greater part of that investment, over GH¢500,000 went into the fishing industry in the Volta Region.

The VCTF was set up by the Venture Capital Trust Fund Act (Act 680).

In practice, the Trust Fund is a fund of funds and operates through Institutional Partnerships by means of joint venture arrangements that establish Venture Capital Finance Companies (VCFCs). The Fund has said on its website.

VCFCs are encouraged to invest in all sectors of the economy, but are precluded from investing in businesses that engage in imports to sell.

It also indicates that the maximum funding limit is 15% of total capitalization of a VCFC and a minimum of $25,000. For purposes of VCFC investments, an SME is defined under the VCTF ACT 680, as a business whose total asset base, excluding land and building, does not exceed the cedi equivalent of $1.0million.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Over $3b invested in biofuels globally, but how much got to Ghana?

There appears to be a stampede by some companies in the search for renewable energy sources across the world. Billions of dollars are being invested into these companies as they proclaiming one or the other food crop or non-food crop as a discovery.

According to Biofuels Digest, an online information source on biofuels $3.45 billion has been invested in biofuels projects in the last 12 months through August 2010, but it is not clear how much of the investment came to Ghana. Indeed, no African country was mentioned.

The report indicated that biofuels, bioenergy and renewable chemicals companies and institutional projects received $3.375 billion in grants and investments in the past 12 months through August 2010, as tracked in Biofuels Digest.

It said in its annual review there are 108 organizations (in some cases, consortia of several groups and companies) that received funding through government grants, private investment, IPOs, or mergers & acquisition activity.

Overall, 82 private companies received investment, with the remaining organizations representing universities, consortia, research institutes, and NGOs.

The report listed investment by countries and 12 countries were named. These are; the US- $1392 million; Brazil – $728 million; India – $331 million; Portugal – $265 million; China – $250 million; Canada – $207 million; France – $133 million; Peru – $28 million; Australia – $16 million; Germany – $10 million; Spain – $9 million; Norway – $6 million.

The $3.45 billion total excluded M&A transactions, such as the Shell-Cosan merger that transferred control rather than injecting new financing. The overall figure also excluded several transactions, including a new Shell investment in Iogen, for which amounts were not disclosed, and does not include the value of loan guarantees. Transactions that were not reported to, or in, the Digest, were also untracked, it added.

It is on record that there are companies from Brazil, Norway, Israel, China, Germany, The Netherlands, Italy, Belgium and India investing in Ghana to cultivate jatropha and other crops for biodiesel, but it is not known yet how much has been invested.

The search for renewable energy sources are necessary, especially looking at the fact that fossil fuels are finite, but care must be taken not to offset gains made in other sectors, especially the agric sector that has been identified to be at risk.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Will Ghana choose China over ExxonMobil for Kosmos’ Jubilee stake?

The government of Ghana about a week ago indicated in a press release that it will soon decide on the Kosmos Energy-ExxonMobil Jubilee stake issue that has become thorny over the period.

The government pledged to do ‘whatever it takes within the law to protect the national interest at all times,’ in the matter of the sale of Kosmos Energy’s stake in the Jubilee oil field to ExxonMobil.

And now there are speculations within the global oil industry that the government is likely to settle on the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) against Kosmos’ choice ExxonMobil. Indeed, government officials in the past have indicated their preference for the Chinese who have expressed interest in buying the stake.

At the height of the clamour for the stake, the Chairman of CNOOC, Fu Chengyu for the first time publicly declared in August last year that China was placing a bid for the stake.

Since Kosmos Energy put up for sale its stake in the country’s largest oil field, the Jubilee oil field which is also the largest oil field to be discovered in West Africa in the last 10 to 15 years, the field which according to Tullow Oil has about 1.5 billion barrels of oil and has 17 wells, the sales issue is yet to be resolved.

When news first broke in 2009 that Kosmos was selling its stake, the company denied the reports. The closely held Texas based company kept secret its intentions insisting the stake was not for sale. But it turned out Kosmos had opened its data room to Texas neighbours ExxonMobil much to the consternation of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Ghana’s national oil company, which is one of the stakeholders in the field.

Kosmos Energy offered to sell to ExxonMobil against the terms of the agreement binding the consortium holding stakes in the field, and the government of Ghana did not hide its displeasure with Kosmos’s action.

According to the terms of the agreement, any one member in the consortium who intends to sell its stake must first make the offer to members. It is only when members have no interest in buying or are unable to buy that outsiders would be invited to bid for the stake on sale and Kosmos has been accused of flouting the agreement by secretly making the offer to ExxonMobil.

The government subsequently, halted the deal between the Texan companies. And a section of the American media went on the offensive slamming Ghana and dragging the country’s image into the mud. There were even articles in some US media blaming President Obama for causing the halt.

But the drama must end at some point as the country begins commercial production of oil in November or December barring any other difficulty.

The government set up a committee to look into the matter. The committee has presented its report on which government will take a decision soon, and it could decide for China which has not hidden its interest in Ghana.

Relations between Ghana and China goes over 50 years and the two countries recently celebrated it. In recent times bilateral trade between Ghana and China has grown, recording in excess of $1.6 billion last year.

Chinese businesses in the country have invested in over 400 projects.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Mahama optimistic Ghana’s GDP will hit over 7% end of 2010

Vice President John Dramani Mahama on Friday expressed optimism that Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would rise above seven per cent by the end of this year.

He said government had put in place effective economic measures, which had been demonstrated in the reduction in inflation and bank interest rates, “and I will therefore not be surprised if we hit 7.2 percent GDP by the end of 2010.”

Vice President gave this assurance when Claude Maeten the Ambassador and Head of the European Union, paid a courtesy call on him at the Castle, Osu.

He appealed to the EU President to impress upon his management team to consider fulfilling all their economic pledges to developing countries to embark on basic infrastructural development that would qualify them to achieve the Millennium Development Goals of their various countries.

The Vice President commended them for their support over the years even in the face of difficulties like the world economic crunch among others.

Mr Maeten gave the assurance that EU would continue to support the developing countries to come out of their economic woes adding “the government of Ghana has done well considering the short time you have come to power.”

Mr Gong Jianz Hong, Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, who was also at the Castle to introduce himself, promised to collaborate effectively with Ghana government to achieve the development goals of both countries.

Mr Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary General, who also paid a courtesy call on the Vice President, currently the Acting President of Ghana, commended government for the development strides the country was enjoying.

Source: GNA

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Ghana, Iran discuss double taxation agreement

Ghana and Iran are negotiating agreements on the avoidance of double taxation – according to a Ghana News Agency report.

The report indicated that this was one of the outcomes of the Fourth Session of the Ghana and Iran Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation in Accra. If the agreement is sealed, Iran will be the eighth country that Ghana has Double Taxation Agreements (DTAs) with.

Ghana currently has double taxation agreements with seven countries and they are France, The UK, Belgium, Italy, Germany South Africa and Switzerland.  According to the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), “Ghana uses the instrumentality of Double Taxation Agreements to rationalize the tax obligations of investors who come from global tax sourced jurisdictions with a view to saving the affected investors from the incidence of double taxation by both their home governments and the host country.

An agreement on the avoidance of double taxation means that a foreign business in Ghana will not have its income taxed in Ghana and in the country of its origination. Depending on the agreement between the country or entity, it could be taxed in one country.

The GIPC believes investment capital can be eroded by taxation and that through the avoidance of double taxation, more investment capital can be secured.

Questions regarding the benefit of these agreements have been raised given the number of Ghanaian businesses in countries with which it has double taxation agreements.

The incidence of double taxation has been inimical to business operations of mostly transnational corporations who are engaged in intra-firm transactions and transfer pricing according to the UNCTAD.

The unavailability of double taxation treaties could lead to tax evasion by companies; hence treaties on avoidance on double taxation are seen as incentives.

By Dode Seidu

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I’ve no regrets for repeal of Criminal Libel Law – Kufuor

The immediate past President of Ghana, John Agyekum Kufuor, has stated categorically that he has no regrets that an obnoxious law that gagged the Ghanaian press, the Criminal Libel Law, was expunged from the country’s statue books during his tenure.

“We haven’t regretted it at all. We believe quadrupling of investments within months of the repeal is ample testimony that we did a good thing,” the former Ghanaian President said.

Mr. John Agyekum Kufuor made the statement at a forum organised by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) at which he was guest speaker, on the theme “Government-Media Relations in a Developing Democracy”, in Accra Tuesday August 10, 2010.

Admitting that the repeal of the law had resulted in some bad media practices, the former statesman said he believed Ghana will mature as a nation out of that. “We are still not very matured but we are getting there,” he assured.

He also expressed his conviction that things would gradually improve, especially in view of the presence of ICT, saying that Ghana was no more insulated against the rest of the world.

Commenting on whether the repeal of the law gave the Ghanaian media unlimited freedom, Mr. Kufuor stressed; “I never believed in absolute freedom. I believe that every freedom must be exercised with a sense of responsibility.”

The former president however cautioned that care must be taken in addressing the excesses of the freedom of the press. “Like a parent who disciplines the child, one must be careful not to break the spirit of that child when disciplining,” he said.

“Exercising freedom is a right that must be learnt and I believe we are all learning,” he submitted further.

Touching on why the Freedom of Information Bill was not passed into law during his tenure, former President Kufuor intimated that some well-meaning people in his government and party received repeal of the Criminal Libel Law with mixed feelings, asking whether they had not rushed in scrapping it from the statute books because of the backlash after its repeal.

He said even well developed democracies like the United States of America and Britain, had passed similar laws such as the Freedom of Information Act only recently, he said it behoved on a fledgling democracy like Ghana’s to take time to get it right.

In his welcome address, the Executive Director of MFWA, Professor Kwame Karikari, said the forum was also to commemorate the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law nine years ago.

He also said it was to afford the former president the opportunity to give an account of government’s relationship with the media during his tenure.

According to Professor Karikari the repeal of that Criminal Libel Law “is like the attainment of the freedom of the tongue and the pen.”

Announcing that all things being equal, next year will mark the 10th anniversary of the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law, which will be marked by a national conference, the Executive Director said; “If people cannot express their minds and thoughts without fear, then there can be no democracy.”

The forum was attended by senior media practitioners and media stakeholders and was moderated by ace journalist, Kweku Sakyi-Addo, Communications Director, Aqua Vitens Rand Limited.

By Edmund Smith-Asante

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Globacom can’t find right staff for Ghana operations

Globacom, one of the mobile phone operators licensed to do business in Ghana can’t get the right caliber of people to start operations.

The company which received its license from the National Communications Authority (NCA) since June 2008  has not rolled out, even though it has spent millions of dollars in promotional campaigns.

Initially, Globacom cited regulatory and permit challenges for the delay. It accused the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for refusing it permits which resulted in delaying its plans to set up its base stations to begin operations.

After the permits issue was resolved, it indicated that it was facing challenges getting a frequency, but the country’s Ministry of Communications has said the frequency Globacom requires for its operations has been released to the company.

And then on May 24 this year, the Daily Graphic carried a story citing a Globacom source saying the company was leaving the country because its detractors were destroying its advertising items. The claim has since been denied.

Ghanabusinessnews.com, however can reveal that Globacom is also facing the challenge of hiring the right caliber of people to work for it.

A Marketing Consultant and lecturer at the Ashesi University Kofi Bentil had told ghanabusinesnews.com that he is aware that Globacom is having difficulties in hiring staff. He told ghanabusinessnews.com on the phone that “My information is also that they have not been able to build a good team.”

A source familiar with Globacom’s operations plans has also told ghanabusinessnews.com that the company is having difficulties finding the right kind of staff to start its operations.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana widens scope for biofuels after Jatropha and sugarcane

Ghana has been keen in looking at cultivating the non-food crop Jatropha to produce biofuel. A number of foreign companies have acquired very large tracts of land and are growing Jatropha to produce biodiesel in the country.

Gold Star Farms, a Ghanaian company, claims it has about five million acres of land available to grow Jatropha for biodiesel production.

One Norwegian company, Scanfuel has acquired 400,000 hectares of land in the Asante-Akim North District of the Ashanti region and is cultivating Jatropha for the production of biodiesel for export.

Other foreign companies have also acquired land to grow sugarcane for the production of ethanol.

In December 2009, the vice president of Ghana, John Mahama announced that large tracts of land will be acquired in the Northern region to grow sugarcane for the production of ethanol for export. A Brazilian company is reported to be involved with this project.

The country however, is widening the scope to include other renewable sources of energy.

Last week, the GNA reported that the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), acting in partnership with the Energy Technology Research Group of the Southampton University, United Kinge GNdom (UK), has commenced research into the use of modern technologies to develop biofuel in Ghana.

The Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Ms. Sherry Ayittey, was quoted as saying at a workshop to discuss the subject that this is to help promote energy diversification and security in sub-Saharan Africa and reduce dependence on crude oil in the long-term.

The workshop  was attended by the academia, scientists, technologists, industry, and policy makers from Ghana, Asia and Europe.

Topics they treated included “second generation biofuels based on biomass pyrolysis technology”, “computational modelling of biomass fast pyrolysis” and “micro-algae as biomass for energy conversion, scope and possibilities.”

The Minister said initial research and development activities in the country focused on the use of food and energy crops as feedstock for the biofuel industry.

However, it has been established that the use of these feedstock for energy could compromise the nation’s food security and this could have socio-economic and environmental implications.

Ms Ayittey said given the abundance of various types of agricultural residues, including maize and rice straw, husks, millet and sorghum straw, the nation stands a better chance of achieving a breakthrough in developing a comprehensive cost-effective and environmentally friendly biofuel.

The ongoing research, she said, would take into consideration pyrolysis technique application – the thermo-chemical process that converts organic materials into usable fuels.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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NPP flagbearer contenders concede to Nana Akufo-Addo

The fiercely contested election for a leader of the biggest opposition party in Ghana the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2012 general elections has ended with a clear, even though, yet to be officially announced winner.

From the declared results so far, after the elections Saturday August 7, 2010, Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo has won a landslide victory to become the party’s flagbearer in the next election for Ghana’s president.

For the first time in the history of political parties in Ghana, delegates across the country cast their votes in the 10 regions at their various constituencies to elect the party’s leader.

Nana Akufo-Addo contested against Alan Kyerematen, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, Isaac Osei and Rev. John Kwame Koduah. All the four have conceded defeat and congratulated Nana Addo.

The Electoral Commission (EC) will be expected to announce the final results and officially declare the winner.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana government to protect ‘national interest’ in Kosmos, ExxonMobil Jubilee sale deal

The government of Ghana has pledged to do ‘whatever it takes within the law to protect the national interest at all times,’ in the matter of the sale of Kosmos Energy’s stake in the Jubilee oil field to ExxonMobil.

In a press release signed by the Minister of Energy Dr. Joe Oteng-Adjei and obtained by ghanabusinessnews.com Friday August 6, 2010, government says Kosmos Energy on June 28, 2010 wrote to it asking for its consent to a Sale and Purchase Agreement it had signed with ExxonMobil as part of its efforts to offload its shares in the Jubilee fields.

The release indicated that government subsequently set up a committee to look into the matter and the committee has finished its work and submitted its report to governmet.

Government, the release said is studying the report and would make its official position on the matter known soon.

The sale of Kosmos Energy’s stake in the country’s largest oil field has been dogged with controversies since Kosmos made its intention to sell.

Kosmos has been accused by the government of Ghana of breaching the terms of the country’s petroleum deal which stipulates that no data shall be opened to outsiders. The agreement also indicates that members of the consortium in the Jubilee field should be given the first option should any one member decide to sell its stake. Kosmos did not abide by these terms, government officials have said.

Several other interests, including India and China national oil companies have offered to buy the stake. The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) has indicated its readiness to purchase the stake as well.

While observers of the country’s emerging oil industry await government’s ‘official position’ on the matter, it is feared that commercial production of oil scheduled to begin in the last quarter of the year may be delayed due to these wranglings. Meanwhile, another development that is likely to hold back work in the field is the suspension of the political risk cover by the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).

MIGA in a statement last week said it has together with its partners suspended a $225 million political risk guarantee contract for the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel that will produce and process oil and gas from the Jubilee offshore oil field in Ghana.

In the joint statement issued on MIGA’s website Thursday July 29, 2010, it said the parties agreed to this suspension in order to conduct due diligence into the conditions of a service contract between MODEC and Strategic Oil and Gas Resources (Strat Oil).

“The parties note they agreed on a suspension because of the importance of the project in Ghana and their shared intention to have all issues resolved as soon as possible so that the project can be resumed,” it added.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana government asked to desist from large scale financial interventions

Government has been advised to desist from large scale intervention packages to allow for sustainable recovery of economic growth and stability in the face of easing pressure of global financial recession on the country’s wealth.

Additionally, government should desist from guarantees, large deposit insurance, ownership and asset acquisition in a manner that gave consideration to macro-economic conditions and within the country’s fiscal constraints.

The advice was made in an eight-chapter document entitled: “The State of the Ghanaian Economy Report, 2009” launched on Thursday in Accra.

It was published by the Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research (ISSER).

Dr Felix Asante, Senior Research Fellow and Head of Economic Division of ISSER, in a presentation of the overview of the report, said the global financial crisis had opened up the debate for the scope of macro-economic policy and what it should cover.

According to him issues including the objective of monetary policy and the relationship between monetary, regulatory and fiscal policy should be discussed, the desirability of ‘fiscal space’ to run larger fiscal deficits when needed as well as the issue of whether monetary policy should be concerned with financial market development should be addressed for an informed broad policy reform agenda for the future.

Speaking on the outlook for fiscal development in 2010, Dr Asante suggested that “since fiscal sustainability depends on cost-effectiveness of expenditure programming and a reliable revenue mobilisation strategy, reducing the budget deficit while making an attempt to boost the economy through an increase in government expenditure requires effective financial management.”

He said fiscal discipline seemed to have improved in 2009 and expressed optimism that it would continue in 2010.

On monetary and financial developments, Dr Asante said the year under review recorded a worsening of some key monetary indicators compared to the preceding year adding that high oil prices, global financial crisis and rising food prices had had severe repercussions on the economy.

Dr Asante expressed disquiet that lack of access to credit by certain key sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing, would result in the inability for the private sector to expand thereby worsening unemployment situation in the country, especially among the youth.

“Though inflation would continue to decline as a result of the tight fiscal policy being pursued and government continues to reduce its domestic borrowing, if the structural bottlenecks that affect food production and distribution are not addressed, the fall in inflation cannot be sustained,” he said.

Dr Asante called on policy makers to take a cue from the key lessons from the recent global economic recession to seek a way of having a more diversified base to reduce its dependence on a few primary commodities and facilitate a more sustainable growth and development.

Professor Clement Ahiadeke, Acting Director of ISSER, noted that the 2009 report had additional chapter specifically reserved to discuss the issue of youth unemployment, a situation he described as gloomy in the country but critical for development.

Prof. Ernest Aryeetey, immediate past Director of ISSER and now the Vice Chancellor of University of Ghana, appealed to universities and researchers to engage government in discussions on issues bordering on socio-economic development to turn around the fortunes of the economy.

Dr Nii Kwaku Sowa, a Research Fellow at ISSER, said Ghana’s economy needed a vigorous analysis in order to make policy makers and implementers improve the economy.

He expressed worry that unqualified persons used some media outlets and unreliable data to make analysis of the economy, misleading the citizenry.

Source: GNA

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Ghana to get $75m support in fight against climate change

Ghana’s forests, and the communities that live close to them, may be about to get a lucky break as the world scrambles to find reliable methods to fight the growing threat of climate change, says a new report by The Forests Dialogue (TFD) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

According to a press release announcing this, despite the fact that Ghana is on course to receive up to US$ 75 million from international donors to lay the ground work for new, forest friendly strategies designed to slow global warming, some long standing challenges in the forest sector need to be addressed urgently to avoid this exciting possibility becoming another missed opportunity.

The new report which was made public on July 30, 2010, is titled “REDD Readiness Requires Radical Reform”.

It announces that although last December’s Copenhagen meeting failed to reach a binding international agreement for curbing emissions of greenhouse gases, at least there was one silver lining, where negotiators managed to outline most of the conditions necessary to begin conserving and restoring tropical forests as a key contribution to combating climate change.

The report states that this paves the way for tropical countries to receive payments in return for safeguarding their forest resources, thereby preventing additional emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This mechanism is commonly known as REDD or Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation.

“Ghana has been at the forefront of the REDD movement,” says Robert Bamfo, Head of Ghana ’s Forestry Commission’s Climate Change Unit, “and we are amongst the first tropical countries to be awarded significant financial support to help conserve, manage and restore our forests”.

However, despite good initial progress, if REDD in Ghana is going to fully deliver, then it will be necessary to work through some well understood challenges in Ghana’s forest sector that have proven resistant to change, it is widely believed.

According to Emelia Arthur, District Chief Executive of Shama District, “We now need to invest more in getting information out to local communities and district authorities on what REDD actually involves and find ways to address forest governance reforms that protect and advance community rights including clarifying land and tree tenure issues”.

The report stresses the urgency of putting in place an adequate framework that will allow REDD benefits to flow efficiently to communities and land‐owners.

“For REDD to work there must be contractual certainty between those whose actions safeguard trees, and the carbon they contain, and those who are willing to pay for avoided emissions”, says James Mayers, Head of the Natural Resources Group at the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), adding; “this means that there is a pressing need to clarify and secure once and for all the rights that communities, farmers and land‐owners have with respect to naturally grown and planted trees in Ghana”.

Commenting on the same issue, Stewart Maginnis, Director of Environment and Development at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), said although “Ultimately the success of REDD will hinge on whether sufficient funds flow to those who rely on forests to sustain their livelihoods, many REDD candidate countries have not even started to contemplate what constitutes a fair and efficient distributional mechanism,” adding, “Ghana now has a unique opportunity to take a lead on this matter, learning from its previous successes, and short-comings, of forest‐based revenue distribution.”

For Kwabena Nketiah, Team Leader of Tropenbos International – Ghana, however, “Partnerships between government, communities, private sector and the NGOs will be critical in addressing these long standing challenges in the forest sector” while “the good news is that Ghana already has an established track record in this respect and can easily build on the successful experience of promoting collaborative arrangements to address illegal logging.”

Raphael Yeboah, Executive Director of the Forest Services Division at Ghana’s Forestry Commission, also believes that “Armed with these recommendations, Ghana is positioning itself as an international leader by creating the conditions that will ensure REDD makes a tangible contribution to combating climate change while working for both Ghana’s people and its forests.”

More than 50 Ghanaian and international stakeholders from government, NGOs, forest communities and the private sector have been involved in preparation of the report, facilitated by TFD.

The report attempts to reflect the main points of broad agreement among the stakeholders on additional measures required to help Ghana get ready for REDD. Similar processes led by TFD and IUCN have also taken place in Brazil, Guatemala and Ecuador, with strong Ghanaian participation in each case.

By Edmund Smith-Asante

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2010 second quarter investments in Ghana amount to $662m

In the second quarter of 2010, the total value of new investments in Ghana amounted to $662 million. These were derived from 105 new projects, the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) has said last week.

According to the Centre, the new investments have brought in altogether an amount of $850 million in 213 projects.

The CEO of the GIPC George Aboagye said the foreign direct investment (FDI) component of the total investment value into the country in the first half of the year amounted to $760.68 million, a significant increase of 598.83% compared to $108 million recorded for the same period in 2009.

The FDIs have come from India, China, Nigeria, Britain, Lebanon, Demark, Netherlands South Africa as well as Belgium and the British Virgin Island.

Aboagye said 89,483 new jobs were expected to be created for Ghanaians in the second quarter, bringing the total number of jobs expected to be created in the first half of 2010 to 94,952.

He also indicated that 67 newly invested projects, or 63.81% of the new investments in the second quarter were wholly owned foreign enterprises valued at $648 millio while the remaining 38 or 36% were joint ventures between Ghanaians and foreign entities valued at $14 million.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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The State must pay maternity benefits – Legal practitioner

Mrs Hilary Gbedemah, a legal practitioner, on Friday suggested that the state should pay maternity benefits to women in the formal sector.

She said this has become necessary because many employers were not paying such benefits.

Mrs Gbedemah made the suggestion at a day’s sensitization seminar organized by Network for Women’s Rights in Ghana (NETRIGHT) for women in the Volta Region in Ho.

It was on the theme, “Women’s Rights Promotion in Ghana: Issues, Challenges and Options.”

She said maternity benefit was a right women could not afford to forfeit and urged stakeholders to ensure that that right was honoured.

Mrs Gbedemah observed that though Ghana was a signatory to many international instruments and conventions, implementation of such laws hardly favoured women and charged women to rise up for their rights.

She noted that though the country’s laws appeared to give equal protection to the citizenry, in practice there were various forms of discrimination at workplaces and in communities.

Mrs Gbedemah therefore urged women to continue to fight for their rights in various forms including upgrading themselves to be able to make more meaningful contributions to national development.

Source: GNA

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Ghanaian banks tighten credit to small businesses

Commercial banks in Ghana have tightened credit to small and medium scale businesses, including households and instead are opting for mortgages, according to the Economy Times newspaper.

The publication said the decreasing margins on average loans or credit lines are on the other hand reported to be the main contributing factors for the easing of the credit stance to large businesses.

It indicated that even though, large enterprises benefitted from a marginal ease in banks’ credit stance, commercial banks’ credit to the private sector and public institutions over the 12-month period to May 2010 increased slightly at 3.2% to GH¢214.4m, and it is the lowest since May 2003.

The newspaper said the outstanding bank credit to the private sector in May 2010 was GH¢5,873m representing 22.7% of GDP. Of this amount it said, the services sector’s share was 23.4%, manufacturing, 13.9%, commerce and finance, 13.9% and construction 9.9%.

In real terms, it said, commercial banks’ credit to the private sector fell by 3.4% at the end of May 2010 compared with a growth of 19.1% at the end on May 2009.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Exclusive: Man who died at Japan airport was born in Kumasi

The 55-year-old man carrying a valid Belgian passport who died last Sunday in Japan was born in the Garden City of Ghana, Kumasi, ghanabusinessnews.com can reveal.

According to Ghana Embassy officials who spoke to ghanabusinessnews.com on the phone, information in the Belgian passport which the deceased presented to immigration officials says he was born in Kumasi in 1955.

But ghanabusinessnews.com sources in Belgium say, he hails from Vakpo in the Volta Region and he was married to a native of Kpando. The cause of death has not yet been determined.

The man, whose name was given as Kwadwo Akyereko also holds a Ghanaian passport which also indicates his place of birth as Kumasi.

The Embassy official, Bonaventure Adjavor, told ghanabusinessnews.com that Akyereko left Accra last Saturday on Emirates flight number 788 to Dubai where he connected with another Emirates flight number EK 316 to Kansai Airport in Osaka, Japan. He said when the deceased’s luggage was searched nothing suspicious was found.

Japan immigration officials however, wanted to know the purpose of his visit to the country and took him in for further questioning, earlier reports have said.

“He was not cooperative and suddenly ran away from the office. As we caught him, he became limp. He was sent to a nearby hospital, and his death was confirmed there.” The reports quoted the officials as saying.

The death of Akyereko who was based in Antwerp has shocked the Ghanaian community there.

Meanwhile, the Ghana mission in Japan has told ghanabusinessnews.com that the Belgian Embassy in that country has taken over the matter, because the deceased presented his Belgian passport on entering the country.

Information available to ghanabusinessnews.com also says doctors are waiting for a judicial permit to be able to conduct autopsy to determine the cause of death.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana to export power to other African countries – Mahama

Vice President John Dramani Mahama on Monday announced that Ghana was positioning herself to become a major exporter of electric power in the coming years.

He said “currently, the country has over 2,000 megawatts of power and we have the vision of increasing it to 5,000 megawatts since we have the comparative advantage to export it to neighbouring African countries.”

Vice President Mahama said these when a delegation of Japanese business organizations called on him at  the Osu Castle in Accra to express interest in partnering the government of Ghana in so many sectors of development.

The delegation was made up of finance, engineering, energy development, hydrocarbons and fertilizers generating companies and general construction firms.

The Vice President was particularly happy that some of the Japanese companies had expressed interest in the development of power in the era that Ghana was on the verge of drilling oil in larger quantities.

“Financing of projects has always been a major constraint for the government and I am happy that both private and government Japanese companies are all expressing interest to invest in different areas of our economy.”

He said government was working round the clock to improve the economic growth rate of the country above six percent by the close of this year and between eight and 10 percent in the next two years.

Vice President Mahama, who traced the cordial relations between Ghana and Japan from the days of Dr. Ngouchi, who research into malaria and died in Ghana and said since then there had been numerous bilateral relations and projects between the two countries.

“As at 2002, Ghana was the second largest recipient of Japanese loans and grants after Kenya until Ghana went in for the Heavily Indebted and Poor Countries (HIPC) programme and we are working hard to ensure that relations increase better in the coming years.”

Vice President Mahama also announced that Ghana was at the brink of becoming an emerging economy due mainly to her credentials in good governance, stability, growth in the economy and respect for human rights.

The Vice President said that the country would in the coming years work closer with more foreign partners to achieve its economic goals of providing jobs and skills to the Ghanaian workers.

Mr. Fumio Hoshi, Executive Director of Japan Bank for International Cooperation, said that the Bank would partner Ghana in the import and export sector by creating jobs and transferring of technology to Ghanaian workers.

He said that it would commit a minimum of $2.5 billion dollars in the job creation and technology transfer and appealed to government to take a closer look at their proposals presented to the Vice President.

Mr. Takuma Hatano, Executive Vice President of Sumitomo Corporation of Japan, that engage in hydrocarbons and fertilizers expressed interest in using natural gas in generating adequate energy for the country.

He appealed to the Ghana Government to come out with a master development plan to enable them access areas of cooperation for the benefit of both countries.

Source: GNA

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Tullow makes another significant oil find in Ghana

Tullow Oil has announced another significant oil discovery in Ghana. In a press release copied to ghanabusinessnews.com Monday July 26, 2010, the major stakeholder in Ghana’s oil sector says “Owo-1 exploration well in the Deepwater Tano licence offshore Ghana has intersected a significant column of excellent quality light oil. Results of drilling, wireline logs and samples of reservoir fluids have established Owo as a major new oil field requiring further appraisal.”

According to the release, the deviated well, located  approximately 6km to the west of the Tweneboa wells, has encountered a gross vertical reservoir interval of 154 metres containing 53 metres of net oil pay in two zones of high quality stacked reservoir sandstones.

Following completion of logging operations the well will be sidetracked 0.6km east to provide additional information on lateral reservoir distribution and to intersect a deeper part of the Owo channel system.

“This is a high value discovery. Oil quality here and reservoir quality is similar to Jubilee. It has come in with very highly pressured reservoirs,” Tullow’s exploration director Angus McCoss has told the Dow Jones news service.

The Owo-1 find is also reported to potentially add another one billion barrels of oil equivalent to the resource estimate for the area. Owo becomes the second major oil discovery made by Tullow in Ghana.

Following the announcement of this find, Tullow Oil’s shares rose on the London Stock Exchange.

Tullow is the major stakeholder in Ghana’s biggest oil field Jubilee. Commercial production of oil in the field said to hold an estimated 1.5 billion barrels of oil is expected to start in November.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Missing site plan stalls $1.5b China-funded trade and recreational project

A $1.5 billion project to build a modern trade and recreational complex has stalled because the site plan for the project cannot be located, the Daily Graphic reports.

According to the newspaper, the $1.5 billion Gold Coast City Project that should have taken off in March this year to convert the 160-acre land between the Independence Square and the Arts Centre in Accra into a modern trade and recreational complex cannot be executed because there are difficulties in locating the site plan.

The Lands Commission the report says cannot locate the site plan which will identify the boundary between the Osu and the Ga Mashie sides of the land.

The initiator of the project Togbe Afede XIV was quoted as saying that the project has been bedevilled with numerous challenges, key among them being the relocation of the numerous offices and structures located on the land.

The commercial project being promoted by the Strategic Initiatives Limited with funding from the Shuguang Group Company Limited, the Guoquiang Construction Company Limited and Gemfy Group all of China includes residential apartments, a five-star hotel, a three-floor shopping mall with ice hockey and ice skating facilities. It would also include a 21-floor World Trade Centre, a four-floor modern school complex, a 15-floor office complex for the Ministry of Tourism and a mini golf club.

Togbe Afede said when the project is completed it will start the modernisation of Accra.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Trade between Ghana and China exceeds $1.6b in 2009

Ghana-China bilateral trade exceeded $1.6 billion last year,Mr. Zhao Shiren, Charge D’ Affaires at the Chinese Embassy in Ghana disclosed on Friday.

He explained that a number of projects undertaken by Chinese enterprises in the country were over 400, calling for a better and closer Ghana-China cooperation.

Mr. Zhao noted that Ghana-China friendship had not only endured the vicissitude of time, but also consolidated and prospered.

He made this known at the end of an exhibition mounted by the Chinese Embassy to mark the 50 years of diplomatic relations between both countries.

The exhibition co-hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration and was on the theme: “Friendship, Cooperation and Development.”

The event, attended by citizens of both countries and some members of the diplomatic corps, showcased historic photos from present to as far back as the 1960s, of some projects as well as government and private sector leaders, who blazed the trail of diplomatic relations between both countries.

“Over the last 50 years, people to people contacts have been further strengthened…the most recent example of Ghana actively participating in the Shanghai Expo 2010 by sending large trade delegation and the national dance troupe”, Mr. Zhao added.

Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, commended China on the remarkable transformation of their economy which has become the second largest destination for direct foreign investment in the world.

He said Ghana appreciates her unique relations with China and is committed to further deepening and strengthening existing warm bilateral ties as well as expansion and scope of economic and technical cooperation between the two countries.

Alhaji Mumuni therefore called on “Chinese businessmen to take advantage of Ghana’s Export Free Zone Enclave, the on-going vast and encouraging oil exploration, excellent sea and air connection and improved infrastructural network to increase their importation of food items, horticultural produce, jewellery, handicraft and wood carvings, chocolate and knock-down furniture from Ghana in order to ensure a fair and balanced trade between our two brotherly countries”.

Diplomatic relations between Ghana and China started in the early 1960s through the instrumentality of Ghana’s first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

Source: GNA

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Ghana makes $3b in FDIs from free zone enclaves in 13 years

The Free Zones Enclaves since their establishment in 1996 to December 31, 2009 realised about three billion dollars (2,984,305,302 dollars) from Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

Within the period, 28,433 jobs were created, Mrs Kate Abbeo, Solicitor for the Ghana Free Zones Board (GFZB), announced at a seminar for employers in the enclaves held in Accra on Thursday.

The seminar organised by the National Labour Commission (NLC) was to educate participants on the provisions of the Labour Act 2003 which regulates employment relations and protect workers’ rights.

These are freedom of association and collective bargaining, equal pay for equal work, maternity protection, occupational health and safety as well as the right to strike.

Free Zones are designated areas where goods and services are produced for export as operators are given tax incentives and other benefits, as well as exemption from paying corporate income tax.

Mrs. Abbeo said the rationale for the establishment of such zones was to attract direct foreign investment, technology transfer, diversification of exports and job creation with the total rights of workers.

She said there was therefore, the need for employers to respect the rights of employees by allowing them to join trade unions in accordance with due process while employees should also honour the terms and conditions of their contract of engagement.

Mrs. Abbeo said union executives should as well respect the provisions in the Free Zones Act which permitted free zones developers and companies to internally negotiate and establish contracts of employment with employees on working hours and wages scale.

She reminded employers, both expatriates and locals that they were expected to spend one per cent of their annual wage bill in training Ghanaian workers to make technology transfer programmes meaningful, adding, “The employer is under obligation to furnish the GFZB with training programmes and records every six months from commencement of work”.

Mrs. Abbeo said employees working within the zones were also entitled to be paid salaries or wages not less than the minimum wage prevailing in the country at a given time, social security, provision of the pension law and law on workmen’s compensation and public holidays.

She said the Board would always ensure that free zone enterprises complied with the provisions on industrial relations contained in the Free Zones Act and uphold human values that were vital to the social and economic lives of employees.

Mr. Johnson Adasi, Director in-charge of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises and Industry, Ministry of Trade and Industry, who represented the Sector Minister, Ms. Hannah Tetteh, said an industrial policy had been established to drive industries in the country, most of which were in distress.

He said the policy which had four components including production and distribution, technology and incentives was designed to increase competitiveness and ease the transaction of business in Ghana to help promote fair pricing and trade on the international market.

Mr. Edward Briku-Boadi, Executive-Secretary, NLC, said the Commission had often received complaints that workers within the enclaves were not being allowed by their employers to form or join trade unions to negotiate for their rights  because some of the employers thought such workers were not bounded by the labour laws in the country.

He said all such workers were bounded by the labour laws and should be given such rights.

Source: GNA

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Ghana earns $1.6b from tourism in 2009

Ghana earned about $1.6 billion from tourism as the fourth largest foreign exchange earner last year after gold, cocoa and remittances from Ghanaians resident abroad.

Mrs Zita Okaikoi, Minister of Tourism, said tourism contributed about 6.2 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) last year.

She was addressing a press conference on the two-day 2010 Ghana International Tourism Investment Forum (GITIF) scheduled for Accra from July 26-27.

The forum being organised as part of this year’s Emancipation Day celebration is under the theme: “Ghana-Time to Explore: The Role of the Investor in the Tourism Sector”.

Mrs Okaikoi said as a service sector, tourism was labour-intensive and a major job creator especially for young people, women and indigenous communities who host tourists and created direct and indirect employment to 260,000 Ghanaians in 2009.

She said third quarter investment report for 2009 indicated that out of new projects estimated at  about 267.25 million dollars, investments in the tourism sector was 55.61 million the second after agriculture of 99.08 million dollars.

Mrs Okaikoi said the forum was expected to bring together local and international investors, practitioners, lecturers, and students of tourism to discuss the future of tourism industry in Ghana, stimulate investment in tourism to boost its development.

In addition, it would create a sustained forum for industry players to share ideas and exchange information on current issues and international best practices in the sector, while establishing a network of industry players for the benefit of Ghana’s tourism industry.

Mrs Okaikoi said participants at the forum would be given the opportunity to participate in some activities of the Emancipation Day Celebration such as the Assin Praso durbar on Friday, July 30, reverential night at Cape Coast and the grand durbar at Assin Manso on Saturday, July 31.

She called on Corporate Ghana, tourism and tourism related industry practitioners, the academia, Metropolitan, Municipal and District assemblies to participate in the forum.

Source: GNA

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Globacom unhappy with Ghana co-location deal

Ghana’s sixth mobile phone service provider yet to start operations still has issues with the country’s regulations for mobile phone companies. And one of the issues Glo is not happy with is the co-location deal that the National Communications Authority (NCA) and other stakeholders have reached with mobile operators in the country.

A source familiar with Glo’s operation plans in Ghana has told ghanabusinessnews.com that the co-location deal in the country is not the best. The source argued, “if you want us to co-locate, you are saying we should offer just what our competitors are offering. You are limiting us.”

In January this year, the Ministry of Environment Science and Technology imposed a ban on the erection of telecom masts in the country, citing among other reasons that about 50% of all communications masts in the country were erected by service providers who did not obtain the required permit.

Some of the concerns that informed the decision to ban the erection of masts included public outcry against the location of some of these masts, accidents, land disputes and health implications believed to be associated with the masts, according to a Daily Graphic report of February 1, 2010.

But on June 1, 2010, the Ministry issued a press release lifting the ban and passed a new regulation on the erection of masts. The lifting of the ban followed the adoption of new guidelines for the erection of masts.

The press release said the guidelines include pre-application requirements for new sites, application processes, requirements for various permitting agencies, operational requirements, structural requirements, co-location and penalties for breach of guidelines.

Even though Glo was part of the deliberations that led to the new regulations it is unhappy with it.

In the press release announcing the new regulation, the Ministry indicated that the effort was the product of collaboration by the National Communications Authority (NCA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), the Town and Country Planning Department and telecommunication operators. It added tat civil society organizations and the general public were also involved.

According to the Glo insider, “we can’t offer any better service than our competitors, if we have to co-locate.”

Since Glo was given the license to operate, the company though is yet to start operating, has spent millions of dollars in promotional and advertising activities.

The telecom provider received the license to operate in Ghana in June 2008 from the National Communications Authority (NCA) in Accra. But regulatory and permit challenges slowed it from setting up its base stations to begin operations. Ghana’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) eventually granted it license to that effect, paving the way for Glo to begin building its cell sites.

When the company was issued its license to begin operations in Ghana, Glo’s management announced the establishment of its Glo-1 Submarine cable to be laid through Europe, Accra to Nigeria. The company subsequently started laying fibre optic cables in Ghana for its broadband services.

In May this year Glo threatened to walk out of the country, citing destruction of its promotional and advertising items.

Asked when Glo will start operations in the country, the source said “the date is uncertain.”

Meanwhile, ghanabusinessnews.com can confirm that one of the major challenges facing Glo is the company’s inability to hire the right caliber of human resources to be able to begin operations.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghanaian banks’ assets grow to Gh¢14.6b, small businesses can’t get credit

Overall developments in Ghana’s banking system through May 2010 is showing a strong asset growth and improvement in financial soundness, but commercial banks are tightening credit to small scale businesses, the Bank of Ghana has said.

Addressing the media last Friday when the central bank announced a new policy rate, the governor of the Bank, Kwesi Amissah-Arthur said, “The total assets of the banking industry grew by 27.1 per cent to Gh¢14.6 billion at the end of May 2010 from Gh¢11.5 billion in May 2009.”

He said the Capital Adequacy Ratio (which measures the banking system’s capacity to withstand unexpected losses) increased from 14.5 per cent in May 2009 to 19.2 per cent in May 2010.

According to Amissah-Arthur, the Non Performing Loans (NPL) which is the ratio of loan losses to gross advances declined from 20 per cent in February 2010 to 18.7 per cent in May 2010 but still higher than the recorded NPL ratio of 11 percent in May 2009.

On credits, he said the credit conditions survey conducted by the Bank of Ghana in June 2010 shows a general net tightening of credit to small and medium sized enterprises and households for mortgages.

“Loans to small and medium sized enterprises and households were however tightened through increases in margin for riskier loans and security and collateral requirements,” he said.

Large enterprises however, he said, benefited from a marginal ease in banks’ credit stance. Decreases in margins on average loans and maximum size of loan/credit lines were the main contributing factors for the easing of the credit stance for large enterprises.

Commercial banks’ credit to the private sector and public institutions over the 12-month period to May 2010 increased by Gh¢214.4 million (3.2 per cent), the lowest since May 2003.

The governor indicated that the outstanding bank credit to the private sector in May 2010 was Gh¢5,873 million (22.7 per cent of GDP). Of this amount, the services sector’s share was 23.4 per cent, manufacturing 13.9 per cent, commerce and finance 13.9 per cent and construction 9.9 per cent.

He added, that, “in real terms commercial bank credit to the private sector fell by 3.4 per cent at end-May 2010 compared with a growth of 19.1 per cent at end-May 2009.”

The central bank lowered its policy rate 150 basis points from 15 per cent to 13.5 per cent, but expectations among the business community are low over commercial banks following the trend and cutting their rates immediately.

According to the governor, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of Ghana also notes the concerns of the general public of the slow pass through of the lower policy rate to the lending rates of banks.

He revealed said that technical studies at the Bank of Ghana suggest that a near full pass through to lending rates operate with a substantial lag. The Bank, therefore, he said “is committed in working closely with the commercial banks in shortening this transmission lag.”

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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UNDP promises assistance for Ghana’s oil sector

The United Nations Development Programme has promised to assist Ghana to develop a framework that will ensure that the country’s new found oil will become part of its blessings.

In a press release issued following a three-day visit to Ghana of Helen Clark, the UNDP Administrator, it praised the country for making advances in the Millennium Development Goals  (MDGs).

According to the release Clark met President John Atta Mills and other government officials and discussed among other things the prospects for continued growth and development, and the country’s expected graduation to middle-income country, which will have important implications for its access to development financing.

Citing Ghana’s impending oil and gas exploitation, Helen Clark said that “Ghana has a great story to tell about how investing in agriculture drove down poverty, and there are many blessings to share: a successful democratic transition, the establishment of solid institutions, legal reforms… We are prepared to help Ghana put a framework in place to ensure oil becomes part of those blessings, with robust planning and budgeting,” the release indicated.

The release noted that by 2006, Ghana became the first African country to have almost halved the proportion of people living in extreme poverty. The country has implemented several flagship programmes that have helped to accelerate the country’s MDG achievement, including a school feeding programme that covers over half a million pupils, a national youth employment programme employing an average of 100,000 youths annually.

The country has also improved the delivery of services in various state-run sectors such as the police, the health care system, and has increased the number of women in decision-making positions.

Ghana announced the discovery in commercial quantities of oil in June 2007. Commercial production is expected in November this year, when the country will produce its first 120,000 barrels of oil.

The country’s economy is also expected to see growth when oil production begins. The Bank of Ghana for instance  has predicted a GDP growth of above 20% by 2011 following commercial production of oil in the country by December 2010.

Ghana’s GDP growth was projected to be within the levels of 5% to 5.7% in 2010.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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The GFA, IRS and Ghana’s Double Taxation Agreements

Following a Daily Graphic report Tuesday July 13, 2010 which said the Internal Revenue  Service (IRS) was demanding that the Ghana Football Association (GFA) pays taxes on the earnings of the country’s national team, the Black Stars from the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, a debate has ensued on the matter.

While the IRS is insisting that the players pay an amount of $349,000, which is 10% tax on their publicly known taxable bonuses, the GFA chairman, Kwesi Nyantekyi holds a contrary view.

Nyantekyi told the Daily Graphic that the earnings of the players are not subject to taxation in Ghana, but in South Africa. He was quoted as saying “It is the bonuses that are taxable, but even that they are liable to South African tax laws and the taxes are usually deducted at source and paid to the playing body, without the GFA having anything to do with it.”

He however, did not clarify in all his arguments whether indeed, the South African tax authorities have taken the taxes. His remarks only say something to the effect that the taxes should have been paid locally where the money was earned and in this particular case, South Africa which has a double taxation agreement with Ghana.

He even alluded to the issue of double taxation. Indeed, Ghana has double taxation agreements (DTAs) with seven countries. The countries are Switzerland, France, UK, Belgium, Italy, Germany and South Africa, according to information on the website of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC).

And Ghana uses the instrumentality of DTAs to rationalize the tax obligations of investors who come from global tax sourced jurisdictions with a view to saving the affected investors from the incidence of double taxation by both their home governments and the host country, the GIPC says.

The DTAs save investors in the participating countries money, because they are not liable to pay taxes in both countries. For instance, if an investor from South Africa who invests directly into Ghana pays taxes in South Africa, he is not liable to pay taxes on the same investment in Ghana.

Clearly therefore, the DTAs are to facilitate trade; unless, perhaps the World Cup or international football competitions also fall into the category of trade and investment.

While we are at it, the GFA and the Ministry of Sports should clarify whether indeed, the taxes have been paid in South Africa. So far, only suggestions of such payment are being made.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Is Ghana ready for an oil economy?

Ghana is set to join the world’s league of oil producing countries when commercial production of oil begins in the country in the last quarter of the year. The first 120,000 barrels of oil is expected in November, according to Tullow Oil, the major stakeholder in Ghana’s nascent oil industry.

But questions still linger as to whether the country which is an agriculture economy is ready to become an oil economy.

The Vice President John Dramani Mahama has told Britain’s Think Tank, Chatham House during a briefing over the weekend that the country has taken the necessary steps to prepare itself to becoming an oil economy, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

He was quoted as saying that “schedules for oil production are well ahead, oil has the potential to be very much transformational for our economy.”

Mahama said the government has done extensive consultation with a number of oil producing countries including the U.K and Norway, in addition to Nigeria and Gabon, to understand their experiences and help prepare an appropriate legal and fiscal framework.

Expectations are high among many Ghanaians that when the oil begins to flow, the economy will improve.

Indeed, the Bank of Ghana has said that the country’s GDP will grow above 20% when the oil starts flowing.

Milison Narh, a deputy governor of the central bank has said the country’s economy will see real GDP growth of above 20% in 2011 as a result of the oil production.

He said initial oil production is projected to constitute 17% of Ghana’s GDP.

But a Ghanaian Think Tank, the Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA) has warned that the country’s economy is likely to suffer the phenomena known as ‘Dutch disease’ when the oil begins to flow.

According to CEPA when Ghana enters the oil era, an exchange rate effect symptomatic of the Dutch Disease is expected. The exchange rate effect, together with the yield on Ghana’s Eurobond source of information on the country risk premium on Ghana and the rate of inflation would be key considerations in the deliberations of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of Ghana (BOG) for the determination of both the real and nominal policy rate (prime rate).

CEPA indicates that considerable investments were made in cocoa at the turn of the last century. From about 1911, cocoa cultivation emerged as the dominant productive activity in the country. Since then, the cocoa sector has served as an important source of:

·    livelihoods and employment;

·    central government revenue; and

·    foreign exchange earnings.

Thus, over the last 100 years, in a fundamental sense, Ghana could be said to have had a cocoa economy.

Anecdotal evidence has it that some Ghanaians desire that the exchange rate of the cedi reverts back to parity with the US dollar. In CEPAs view that would be the onset of the Dutch Disease.

The Dutch Disease is so named because of the destructive effect such as choking off the growth and employment potentials in non-oil sectors on the Dutch economy of the discovery of substantial gas reserves in the 1960s. It is a form of the resource curse. It originated from the nominal and real appreciation of the exchange rate that resulted from the large inflows of foreign exchange earnings from the Dutch export of gas. Effective management of the exchange rate will therefore be critical, if oil is to enhance our growth prospects and if Ghana is to avoid the ills of the Dutch Disease, it said.

Ghana has the largest oil field to be discovered in West Africa in the last 10 to 15 years. The oil field, the Jubilee oil field according to Tullow Oil contains 1.5 billion barrels of oil and has 17 wells. The Jubilee oil field and Tweneboa, are said to hold a total of 2.9 billion barrels of oil together.

Tullow has alos said it will put Ghana among the world’s top 50 oil producers when production begins.

Currently, discussions are going on in the country as to what the country’s crude oil should be named.

There is no doubt that when oil production begins, it will certainly begin a very significant era in the country’s history and it has the potential to make a remarkable impact on the country’s economy.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana’s Western region loses about 60% of cocoa to smuggling

Security agencies at the Boinso border in the Western Region have been urged to intensify their operations to help minimize cocoa smuggling in the area.

The Executive Director of the Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease Control Unit (CSSVDCU) of the Ghana Cocoa Board, Reverend Abeka Ewusi, said about 60 per cent of cocoa produced in the area and other parts of the Western Region were smuggled out of the country.

He, therefore, called on the Police, Bureau of National Investigation (BNI), Western Regional Coordinating Council, District Assemblies, chiefs, farmers and Assembly Members in the area to join hands to reverse the situation.

Rev. Ewusi made the appeal at the Regional Cocoa farmers rally at Boinso in the Western Region.

He said reports received from cocoa officers in the Region indicated that large quantity of cocoa produced in most parts of Western Region were not sold to the Ghana Cocoa Board, but rather smuggled into Ivory Coast without any explanation from the farmers.

The Executive Director described the figures as “outrageous and could undermined the efforts of government and the Ghana Cocoa Board to increase cocoa production.

Rev. Ewusi said despite this sad development, the government and COCOBOD have reached advance stage for the implementation of the Pension Scheme for cocoa farmers to alleviate their suffering.

The Executive Director stated that COCOBOD had reintroduced the cocoa extension service to offer modern technologies to the farmers to increase production.

He said government had outlined numerous measures to increase cocoa production, including supply of fertilizers at subsidized price and hybrid cocoa seedlings, payment of compensations to farmers whose diseased farms were cut down for replanting.

He urged cocoa farmers to form Community Based Organizations (CBOs) to enable them to receive financial assistance and other logistics support from government and the Ghana Cocoa Board.

He said the Unit would distribute a total of eight million hybrid cocoa seedlings to farmers in the Western Region this year.

Mr Francis Antwi Adjei, Western South Regional Manager of CSSVDCU said, to achieve the target of one million metric tons of cocoa by the 2012, farmers must work hard and apply the technical advice from the extension officers of the Unit.

He called on the farmers to embrace the Community Nursery Centers to help them to get supply of cocoa seedlings at their door steps and appealed to them to allow their infested farms to be cut down to reduce the spreading of the swollen shoot virus disease.

Nana Tandoh Boadi, Western Regional Chief Farmer appealed to government to construct roads in the cocoa growing communities to ensure easy cocoa evacuation.

Source: GNA

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Ghana receives €41.8 million budgetary support from EU

The European Union (EU) in Ghana has disbursed about EUR 41.8 million to government through Ghana’s Multi-Donor Budget Support (MDBS) framework this year.

A statement issued in Accra on Friday by the European Union Delegation to Ghana, said the disbursement is under the Millennium Development Goals Contract (MDG-Contract) and Food Facility instrument.

The MDG-Contract, EU’s new approach under the 10th European Development Fund (EDF) for longer term and a more predictable general budget support, was signed by the EU and Government of Ghana in July 2009.

Under the financing agreement of the MDG-Contract, EU is to provide about EUR 174 million as general budget support to Ghana between 2009-2014, with an overall objective of contributing to sustainable growth and poverty reduction in Ghana so that the country can attain middle-income status including the achievement of the MDGs.

It said the 2010 disbursement followed the satisfactory conclusions of the 2009 MDBS annual review, as well as the demonstrated commitment by government towards attaining macro-economic stability, implementing the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy II (GPRS II), and in improving the country’s public financial management.

Budget support is one of the three focal areas of cooperation between the European Union and Ghana.  Contrary to a project approach, budget support involves the transfer of financial resources directly to the Government Treasury to complement government’s own domestically generated revenues to facilitate the implementation of the national budget and its associated public expenditure plans.

In 2009 alone, the EU disbursed about 69 million Euros as budget support to the government.

The MDG-Contract (EUR 174 million) together with other complementary instruments (EUR 15 million Food Facility and EUR 35 million Vulnerability-Flex disbursed in December 2009) brings the size of EU’s current budget support programme in Ghana to about EUR 224 million.

Further to this, EU is committed to providing more support in the strengthening of Ghana’s institutions and systems with a key focus on Public Finance Management.  This is particularly in view of the increasing need for more robust national institutions and systems to improve the effectiveness of aid.

Direct budget support to Ghana over the period 2008-2014 is part of a broader EU aid portfolio of more than 420 million Euros, or about GH¢800 million.

Other important sectors for intervention include transport and interconnectivity for about EUR 80 million, governance, and non-focal areas such as trade.

The EU was one of the first signatories to the Memorandum of Understanding on MDBS signed in June 2003 and revised in 2008.

Currently, the MDBS has 11 participating donor partners, namely African Development Bank, Germany, France, UK, World Bank, EU, Canada, Denmark, Netherlands, Switzerland and Japan.

Source: GNA

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Ghana scores another first as offshore broadband takes off in 3 or 6 months

If the proposed take off date of the collaborative offshore broadband project between MTN Ghana and PARD Energy of Norway is met, Ghana will become the first country in Africa to have an offshore broadband network.

Even though Nigeria is the leading oil producer in West Africa, that country’s oil sector has no national offshore broadband network. Oil companies in Nigeria instead have individual broadband services.

Ghana will be following in the steps of developed oil producing countries like Norway in that regard.

Mr. Trygve Tamburstuen of PARD Energy answering questions during a one-day workshop in Accra in April said the project should be ready in six or nine months time. That was about three months ago and all things being equal, the country’s offshore broadband network which according to MTN and PARD Energy will also serve the downstream oil and gas sector will be up and running.

The service according PARD will meet the data storage and transfer requirements of the oil sector, both offshore and onshore.

Mr. Tamburstuen also said the project when completed will become a world class broadband solution.

And as a result of this development, Ghana’s ICT for Development policy will be reviewed to accommodate a broadband policy, digital mapping, cyber security and green ICT, according to Gideon Boye Quarcoo, the deputy minister of Communications.

Ghana is set to become an oil producer in December. And the major stakeholder in the country’s oil industry Tullow Oil says two of the country’s significant oil fields, the Tweneboa and Jubilee oil fields both contain a total of 2.9 billion barrels of oil.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana earns €55m from timber exports in 5 months

Ghana earns an amount of €55 million from the country’s accumulative wood product exports in the first five months of 2010, according to the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO).

The amount was earned from the export of 166,920 cubic metres of wood products – a 3.1% increase in volume and a 10% rise in value compared with the first five months of 2009.

According to the ITTO, for the period under review, export volumes of both air and kiln dried boules, air and kiln dried sawnwood, and mouldings increased 58%, 15%, 27% and 16% respectively in comparison to the same period in 2009.

There was however, a drop in the exports of veneers and other wood products within the period and that was attributed to inadequate log supply and decreased export contracts.

Meanwhile, Ghana will from next year export its first wood products under the newly adopted voluntary partnership agreement (VPA) of the European Union (EU).

Ghana signed a VPA with the EU on November 20, 2009 in Brussels, making Ghana the first country to sign a voluntary agreement with the EU.

Under the terms of the agreement only legally harvested timber from the country will be exported to the European market.

The agreement which is in keeping with the European Union’s Forest Law Enforcement, Government and Trade (FLEG) action plan establishes the legal framework of surveillance and monitoring aimed at ensuring that all timber imports into the EU have been acquired, harvested, transported and exported in accordance with the law in Ghana. The agreement also creates a national legality assurance system for all timber and timber products sold in the EU, on non-EU markets and on the domestic market. It also provides for independent third-party audits of the entire legality assurance system to guarantee credibility and effective verification and licensing.

In January this year, Ghana and the EU held the first monitoring and review meeting in Accra to look at the impact of the VPA.  The agenda for the meeting included Rules of the procedure; Ghana and EU synopsis of progress since initialing; Plan of action for 2010; Aide memoir and to fix a date for the next review meeting.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana not prepared to combat money laundering, terrorist financing – Report

A recent report by the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money-Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) indicates that Ghana is not yet prepared to effectively combat money-laundering and terrorist financing in harmony with international standard of practice.

As such, Ghana had been placed on an expedited regular follow-up process and expected to present a follow-up report at GIABA’s plenary meeting in November 2010, to rectify the deficiencies that were identified during evaluation for the report dubbed: “Financial Action Task Force 40+9″(FATF 40+9)

Speaking on the 2009 report on Monday in a speech read on his behalf in Accra, Dr Kwabena Dufuor, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP) said the major deficiencies the evaluation report identified, included non-existence of a financial intelligence centre, and ineffective application of powers by appropriate authorities to investigate, detect, seize and confiscate proceeds of crime.

Others were inconsistency in the implementation of currency declaration system across designated entry and exit points due to non-standardisation of the reporting format, and the lack of awareness of roles by Customs, Excise and Preventive Service officials.

The rest were lack of comprehensive preventive measures by financial institutions and accountable institutions in the areas of Customer Due Diligence, Politically Exposed Persons, application of risk-based approach to anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism and combating the financing of terrorism compliance functions and the monitoring of cross-border and domestic wire transfers, and lack of mechanism with regard to cross-border correspondent banking relationships, and clear guidelines with respect to the use of third parties and intermediaries.

Dr Dufuor was delivering the keynote address at a three-day workshop organised by MOFEP and GIABA to develop a national strategy on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) strategy for Ghana.

He expressed optimism that the workshop would mark a new phase in the country’s determination to counter money laundering and terrorist financing adding that it anticipated holistic approach towards collaboration, coordination and co-operation among stakeholders would be realised.

“With a national strategy in place, we can more easily determine the activities and measures we would need to put in place to develop a robust AMC/CFT regime.

“We would consolidate democracy, ensure economic and financial integrity, overcome corruption, accelerate socio-economic development and reduce poverty and promote political stability,” he said.

Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu, Minister of Justice and Attorney-General, noted that money laundering undermined the legitimate operations of the private sector, caused loss of control of economic policies; capital flight and led to loss of government revenue and economic distortion as well.

“As stakeholders in the development of a National Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism Strategy for the Republic of Ghana, it would be our task to formulate a framework to reveal the trail to link the tainted funds to criminal activity and convict the perpetrator,” she said.

She admitted that the move would be quite challenging due to the high volume of cash based transactions and the existence of alternative remittance awareness on the part of people outside the country.

Mr Martin Amidu, Minister of the Interior, expressed confidence that by the close of 2012, President John Evans Atta Mills’ campaign promise of combating money laundering and drug trafficking would have been realised.

He said it was the expectation that Ghana would make the needed corrections to perform better in the next evaluation of GIABA.

“As members of the international community, we have international obligations to fulfil by ensuring compliance with our international obligations in anti-money laundering and combating financial terrorism. We have fulfilled some of these obligations by enacting the anti-money laundering Act, 2008 (Act 749), the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations, 2008 (LI 1925), and the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2008 (Act 764),” he said.

In a speech read on his behalf, Dr Abdullahi Shehu, Director General of GIABA, observed that the cedi had become the most attractive, preferred and highly valued currency following the redenomination exercise in 2007 adding “the significance of this to criminals is legion: that is, less cash to carry, transaction with less volume of currency and easy to hide big value in small volume”.

“Although the convertibility of the currency is largely limited within the region with anticipated exchange risks, when combined with other factors such as free movement of goods and services within the region, proliferation of unofficial currency exchange markets, prevalence of cash transactions, porosity of borders and weaknesses in AML enforcement measures across the region, criminals can still exploit the high value cedi notes as a store of value,” he said.

Dr Shehu noted that outcomes of the evaluations revealed significant deficiencies in the AML/CFT systems of member states that cannot be effectively addressed through isolated actions.

“It is in this regard that one of the main thrust of our follow up actions within the framework of our technical assistance programme to member states is to support them to develop a comprehensive National AML/CFT strategy,” he said.

Dr Sehu said “each member state is expected to develop and implement a National AML/CFT Strategy to guide their efforts and actions against money laundering and terrorist financing. Only on this basis can truly realistic action plans be developed which would indeed reach the heart of the matter”.

He revealed that 11 countries including Ghana had been so far evaluated with four countries namely Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia and Togo to be evaluated by close of 2010 and 2011.

The GIABA report provided a summary of the AML/CFT measures in Ghana. It described and analysed those measures and provided recommendations on how certain aspects of the system could be strengthened.

It also set out Ghana’s level of compliance with the FATF 40 + 9 Recommendations.

To combat Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism, (ML/CFT), Ghana has developed legislative and institutional framework through the enactment of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA), 2008 (Act 749), the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 2008, (ACT 762), the Narcotic Drugs (Control, Enforcement and Sanctions) Act, 1990 (PNDCL 236) , the Human Trafficking Act, 2005 (Act 694), the Bank of Ghana Act, 2002 (Act 612), the Banking Act, 2004 (Act 673), Securities Industry Act, 1993 (PNDCL 333), the Insurance Act, 2006 (Act 724) the Foreign Exchange Act, 2006 (Act 723), and the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Act, 2008 (Act 774).

GIABA was established on the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS on December 10, 1999.

Its main focus at inception was the protection of West African economies and financial systems against money laundering.

In January 2006, the statutes of GIABA were revised to reflect the growing link between Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, following terrorist attacks on the United States of America on September 11, 2002.

This is why counter-financing of terrorism was incorporated into GIABA’s mandate.

GIABA conducts mutual evaluations of Member States in accordance with FATF standards and also in compliance with its enabling Statutes. The evaluations are based on the FATF 40 recommendations (2003) and the nine special recommendations on terrorist financing (2001), using the AML/CFT Methodology 2004.

Member States of GIABA agree to subject themselves to a mutual assessment process in conformity with international standards for preventing money laundering and financing of terrorism as contained in Articles 12 to 14 of the GIABA Statute.

The scope of the evaluations is to assess whether the necessary laws, regulations or other measures required under the essential criteria are in force and effect, that there has been a full and proper implementation of all the necessary measures, and that the AML/CFT system as implemented is effective.

GIABA has adopted the FATF procedure in the evaluation of Member States and the evaluated country is rated depending on the efficacy of measures put in place to detect, prevent or sanction cases of money laundering and terrorist financing.

Ratings range from compliant, largely compliant, partially compliant, to non-compliant.

Source: GNA

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World Bank gives Africa $11.5b financial support in 2010

The World Bank has committed a total of $11.5 billion to Africa in the fiscal year 2010. That is from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010

In a press release copied to ghanabusinessnews.com the Bretton Woods Institution said the Bank committed the funds to help the continent recover rapidly from the financial crisis that hit the world in 2008.

The Bank, according to the release, supported 113 projects, with $4.3 billion in commitments from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), and $7.2 billion in commitments from the International Development Association (IDA).

The World Bank Group said it committed more than $72 billion assistance for developing countries in fiscal year 2010 as the world faces a fragile and uneven recovery.

In fiscal year 2010, the Bank Group supported an estimated 875 projects to promote economic growth, overcome poverty, and promote private enterprise, with record commitments in education, health, nutrition, population, and infrastructure providing much-needed investments in crisis-hit economies, it said.

The Bank indicated that this assistance was provided in loans, grants, equity investments and guarantees to help countries and private businesses contending with significantly diminished private capital flows in the wake of the global downturn.

According to the Bank, private flows are forecast to recover only modestly from $454 billion in 2009 to $771 billion by 2012, still far below the $1.2 trillion in 2007.  Overall, the financing gap of developing countries is projected to be $210 billion in 2010, declining to $180 billion in 2011 down from an estimated $352 billion in 2009.

Commitments from the World Bank Group to sub-Saharan African countries, which the Bank considers its top priority, rose to $13.85 billion in fiscal year 2010, up 28 percent from $9.9 billion in fiscal year 2009. This included $7.2 billion from the IDA, or 49 percent of total IDA commitments; $4.3 billion from the IBRD; a record $2 billion from the International Finance Corporation (IFC); and $345 million in Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) guarantees for projects in the region.

IBRD and IDA disbursements in sub-Saharan African countries stood at $6 billion in fiscal year 2010.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Tullow Oil says Tweneboa, Jubilee have total of 2.9 billion barrels of oil

The major stakeholder in Ghana’s nascent oil and gas industry, Tullow Oil says two of the major oil fields in the country contain 2.9 billion barrels of oil and gas.

The Wall Street Journal citing information on Tullow Oil’s website says the Tweneboa oil field contains up to 1.4 billion barrels of oil equivalent in oil and gas reserves, and the Jubilee oil field, which has been noted as the largest oil field to be discovered in West Africa in the last 10 to 15 years contains up to 1.5 billion barrels. The 1.5 billion barrel estimate for the Jubilee oil field is a slight decrease in the total earlier estimated at 1.8 billion barrels. The field has 17 wells.

The commercial production of oil at the Jubilee oil field is scheduled to begin in December this year.

The FPSO vessel to be used for the production of the oil has arrived in the country and is docked at the Takoradi Harbour.

Ghanaians are anxiously waiting to see the country join the rank of the world’s oil producers. Tullow Oil had said Ghana will become one of the world’s top 50 oil producers when the country starts commercial production of oil.

According to the CEO of Tullow Oil, Aidan Heavey, “Ghana will move pretty quickly into the top 50 producers in the world.”

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Dr. Ampofo – I still don’t know why I was removed from TOR

The former Managing Director of the Tema Oil Refinery, Dr. Kwame Ampofo says he still does not know why he was sacked.

Dr. Ampofo who served as the MD of the country’s only oil refinery for 11 months until he was fired in May 2010 by a letter from the office of the President told ghanabusinessnews.com that he has never been told the reasons for his dismissal.

Dr. Ampofo however told ghanabusinessnews.com that he intends to talk to President John Atta Mills himself. “I want to talk to his Excellency himself. I don’t want to go through any one else,” he said.

The letter to the media announcing Dr. Ampofo’s dismissal which was signed by the Head, Communications, Office of the President, Koku Anyidoho said, “His Excellency President John Evans Atta Mills, has with immediate effect, terminated the appointment of Dr. Kwame Ampofo as Managing Director of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR).”

Ato Ampiah, a former MD of GHAMOT was appointed to act as Managing Director of TOR.

Dr. Ampofo who described himself to ghanabusinessnews.com as a ‘renewables person’ said the country ought to look into the future and prepare for renewable energy sources.

He said the country should focus on developing renewable energy policies, and structures to prepare itself for the future, because he believes that it is likely that petroleum would be used for petro-chemical products as most countries of the world are likely to depend on renewable energy sources like solar, wind, biomass and biofuels.

Commenting on his 11 months at TOR, Dr. Ampofo said he has been able to turn the oil refinery around and that is why after his departure the refinery is still running smoothly.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Telecoms companies in Ghana spend GH¢43.5b on advertising in 2009

The telecommunication companies operating in Ghana have altogether spent an amount of GH¢43.5 billion on advertising in the year 2009 out of a total of GH¢184.9 billion expended by other sectors.

A Nigerian publication, the Daily Sun citing the conclusions contained in the Mediafacts Addendum, a comprehensive analyses of Above-the-line (ATL) advertising expenditure by mediaReach OMD a specialist media company in West and Central Africa, indicated that the report which also looked at the situation in Nigeria said the telecoms companies in that country spent a total of I5.096 billion naira in the total spends of 90.925 billion naira.

In Nigeria, the banking and finance segment of the market spent next to the telecommunications companies on ATL advertising accounting for 6.176 billion naira while in Ghana, the next in line was corporate and multi-brand segment of the market which spent GH¢18.4 billion. The lowest spending segment of the ATL advertising market in Nigeria is seasoning and herbs.

In both countries, the report said, television advertising raked in the highest revenue. In Ghana, 58% of the total advertising spend went to television while in Nigeria, it was 42.2 per cent. Radio advertising attracted the second highest advert revenue in Ghana while out-of-home is next to television in the Nigerian ATL advertising market.

According to the report the print media got the bulk of its advertising revenue in Nigeria from personal paid announcements, raking in 4.181 billion naira. Ghana’s print media, however, still made the bulk of advertising money from telecommunications.

There are six telecoms companies licensed to do business in Ghana. They are, MTN, Tigo, Kasapa, Vodafone, Zain and Globacom. Apart from Globacom, the other five are in operation. And while Globacom has not yet started operations, the company is spending hugely on advertising and sponsorships.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Special notice: We are doing technical maintenance

We wish to inform you, our highly valued visitors, that we are undertaking some major technical maintenance on this site in the next couple of days. This is to enhance the performance of the website and to improve our valuable services to you.

As a result, you will encounter some difficulties while browsing the site.

We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this will cause. We hope to stabilize activities on the site as soon as possible so we can enhance your browsing experience.

Thank you very much for visiting ghanabusinessnews.com.

Emmanuel K. Dogbevi
Managing Online Editor

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World Cup: Subdued jubilation greets Ghana’s second round qualification

The Ghana Black Stars have qualified for the round of 16 at the ongoing 2010 World Cup tournament in South Africa after losing 0-1 to Germany but celebrations of the qualification was subdued in the country.

Indeed, not many Ghanaians knew the Stars have qualified after the match was over. Scattered jubilation and blowing of car horns drew their attention to it.

The Stars, playing one of their best games ever at the World Cup created more scoring chances than the Germans but failed to score. The Germans however made use of one of their best chances to score the lone goal 15 minutes into the second half. The goal was scored by Mesut Oezil.

Germany therefore , tops Group D with six points followed by Ghana with four points.  Ghana’s qualification was more on account of Serbia’s 1-2 loss to Australia.

Ghana will meet the USA on Saturday at the knock-out stage of the competition.

Line up: Richard Kingson, John Paintsil, Hans Adu Sarpei, Jonathan Mensah, John Mensah, Anthony Annan, Prince Tagoe/Sulley Muntari, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Asamoah Gyan/Matthew Amoah, Kwadwo Asamoah, Andre Ayew/Dominic Adiyiah

Subs: Daniel Agyei, Samuel Inkoom, Isaac Vorsah, Lee Addy, Rahim Ayew, Derek Boateng, Stephen Appiah, Sulley Muntari, Quincy Owusu-Abeyie, Mathew Amoah, Dominic Adiyiah, Stephen Ahorlu.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana’s timber products permits up 25% in first quarter 2010

Ghana’s timber industry is vacillating between good and bad times, after surviving the global economic crisis of 2008.

The country has in the first quarter of 2010 approved and processed permits for a total contract volume of 118,000 cubic metres of wood products, according to the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO), and compared to the fourth quarter of 2009 that was an increase of 25%. There were, however no recorded applications for the export of furniture in the period under review, the ITTO said.

In the first nine months of 2009, exports dropped to 320,660 cubic metres and there was also a drop of 32% in revenue compared to the same period in 2008.

All of the country’s major wood products experienced some growth in volume, except sawnwood and rotary veneer which slipped marginally in comparison to the previous quarter.

There were significant increases in export volumes of plywood (51%), sliced veneer (86%), poles/billets/logs (31%) and processed lumber/mouldings (160%) compared to the fourth quarter of 2009, the ITTO indicated.

Sawnwood continued to be the leading export product accounting for 38% of the total export volume in the 1Q 2010.

Timber is the fourth highest foreign exchange earner for Ghana behind, gold, cocoa and tourism. It is worth an estimated $400 million a year.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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GREDA says $10b STX housing deal not value for money

The Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA), has expressed displeasure over the housing deal between the Ghana government and the Korean construction company STX.

While commending the government for its good intentions and commitment to significantly tackle the country’s huge housing deficit GREDA is of the view that the STX deal does “not at all represent value-for money.”

The government offered a deal to STX to build 200,000 housing units in five years to reduce the country’s estimated one million housing unit deficit.

In a press release widely circulated to the media in Ghana, the GREDA says it “is extremely disturbed by the nature of the whole STX deal, and the proposed Off-Taker Agreement between STX Engineering and Construction Ghana Limited and the Government of Ghana.”

STX Corporation of Korea announced to the world that it had won a $10 billion order from the Government of Ghana to build 200,000 homes over a five-year period, from 2010-2015.

GREDA points out that the agreement between the government and STX has the following details:

-    The government of Ghana will become an off-taker of 45% of the 200,000 units, i.e. 90,000, will be bought by government. There shall be an initial phase where 30,000 units will be built at the cost of $1.5 billion to government. These are earmarked for the security services.

-    HFC Bank will provide mortgage finance for the remainder (i.e. 55%), worth over $5 billion.

-    The $1.5 billion Suppliers Credit Financing agreement for the first 30,000 units has already been sent to Parliament requesting approval.

GREDA said it is concerned about the expediency of the deal, its financing and the effect of such a deal on “our finances as a country and on the broader economy, and on our sense of self worth as a people.” GREDA particularly also worries about the signal this is sending about the country’s  construction industry which has so far built Ghana.

The release indicated that 200,000 units may just be a fraction of the total deficit thus leaving a lot for others to deal with if they want to, “but as Ghanaians and the professionals in this industry we feel it a duty to draw attention to the fact that this deal does not at all represent value-for money,” GREDA said.

The estate developers said they are able to construct any type of building required in Ghana, pointing out that “Ghanaians built Dansoman, Sakumono and other estates, and all the barracks we have today, Ghanaians built the city of Tema, State House (Job 600), and Cedi House, local private estate developers have built world Class residential properties.”

GREDA commits that given the same terms as STX, it can deliver the required housing at less than half the current cost, the release added. The estate developers are therefore, asking the government to cancel the STX deal.

GREDA among other factors cited the bad nature of the deal, which it says will be damaging to Ghana’s economy. The group also asked that Parliament should discontinue the approval process of the deal because it also contains a number of ambiguities.

GREDA pointed out the following terms of the agreement:

1.     All land will be provided by government free of charge to STX

2.     All facilities to the land such as Roads, Electricity, Water, Telephones and the like will be provided by government free of charge to STX

3.     No Taxes on all imports, including materials, machinery and equipment.

4.     No Taxes on all earnings by STX

5.     No VAT

6.     No withholding taxes may be deducted even for locally purchased items

7.     Full repatriation of profits and earnings for STX.

8.     Ghana Government will pay for STX costs and expenses in executing the project under the “Financing Documents” (including legal, accounting, travel expenses, and other out of pocket expenses) and any VAT on those expenses.

9.     STX may, if it wishes, convert all or part of the debt into crude oil.

GREDA also expressed concern about the fact the the impression is being created that the Korean government was financing this project. It says however, that is not true because stx will obtain a sovereign guarantee from the  Ghana government.

GREDA is therefore, calling on the government to sit with them to discuss the matter of the housing needs of the country, as its members will be able to deliver the same number of hosuing units under the STX agreement at half the stated cost.

Information about the deal reached ghanabusinessnews.com in December 2009.  According to the information, the government of Ghana, the South Korean government and STX Group of South Korea signed a deal for a $10 billion housing deal. Further information emailed to ghanabusinessnews.com from South Korea confirmed that the deal was signed Tuesday December 8, 2009.  The then Minister of Works and Housing, Albert Abongo signed on behalf of Ghana.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Cabinet approves EITI to cover oil and gas

Cabinet has approved the extension of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) to cover the oil and gas sector, Mr Seth Tekper, a Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning has said.

He announced this in an address read for him at a two-day sensitization workshop on EITI organized by the Ministry of Finance for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives and representatives of the District Assemblies at Takoradi on Saturday.

Mr Tekper said the EITI is a governance tool aimed at improving transparency and accountability around the payments that companies in the extractive sector make to governments and the revenues that governments receive from companies.

He said EITI seeks to improve issues on transparency and accountability in countries dependent on revenues from oil, gas and mining and to reduce the potential negative impact of mismanaged revenues by ensuring that these revenues become an important source of long-term wealth creation that would contribute to sustainable development and poverty reduction.

Mr Tekper said, “Extending the EITI now would serve as an additional check in ensuring that the scarce resources of the country are managed in a prudent manner”.

He said poor management, weak institutional capacities and lack of transparency have accounted for the poverty, conflict and misuse of resources associated with the oil and gas sector.

Mr Tekper said the absence of strong governance benchmarks of the continent’s extractive industry was the main cause of bad resource management and the end result of this was rent-seeking rather than development and growth.

He said government was not only going to enforce revenue transparency, but would also ensure that transparency existed in the entire value chain from the negotiation of contracts to issues of revenue utilization.

Mr Tekper said there was the challenge of creating a viable, integrated and diversified oil and gas industry as well as sustaining the wealth it generated without compromising environmental, social and cultural considerations and ensuring a regulatory framework that encouraged wealth creation in a balanced manner.

He said government also is faced the challenge of deciding on the management of the oil revenues; how much should be saved and how much should be invested and how to ensure that revenue from oil and gas is distributed equally and in a way that balances and manages conflicts and concerns at the local and national levels.

Mr Tekpter said government must also decide on the form of allocation that would best promote sustainable development by focusing on poverty alleviation.

This, he said, raised the challenge of ensuring that extractive and exploitative natural resource-based activities were integrated in community development planning in order to maximize their contribution to sustainable livelihoods in areas where these resources were extracted.

He said: “Ensuring sound governance and stable macroeconomic environment would be essential and we must ensure that the discovery of oil does not lead to the neglect and abandonment of our traditional production and export base such as timber, cocoa, rice, maize, cassava and the like”.

Source: GNA

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Response to ‘Door of no Return’ features at Africa Business Conference in US

A poignant response to the ‘Door of no Return’ will feature prominently at the Africa Business Conference to be held in Baltimore, USA.

The ‘Door of no Return’ is the exit at the slave castles in Ghana through which millions of Africans were taken away to work at European plantations in the New World during the 1500s.

And according to the historian H. Thomas, during the period of the slave trade, at least 13 million Africans were illegally transported from the shores of West Africa to the Western Hemisphere. Of those 13 million, approximately 11, 328,000 were delivered to the New World, amounting to the trans-shipment murder of approximately 1, 672, 000 persons, or 13% of the cargo.

In response to the dark reality of the slave trade a dedication of the ongoing project, the ‘Wall of Return’, will be done by the conference sponsors.  The project is a way to symbolically return to the African continent the names of enslaved ancestors and their descendants, and it is a 21st century response to the “Door of No Return” during the slave trade.

The wall, the organisers hope will eventually contain a million names, and will be located at the Restoration Center in the Gambia, West Africa.  The Wall will begin construction when the 2012 conference goes to West Africa, the organizers have said in a press release copied to ghanabusinessnews.com.

The release said the second annual 2010 Africa Business Conference and Trade Fair will bring together more than a hundred dynamic small business and trade entrepreneurs looking for new opportunities and business relationships.

According to Eric Sheppard, president of Diversity Restoration Solutions, organizers of the conference “Other conferences focus on large corporations already doing business overseas. We bring together small business entrepreneurs to establish trade, merging commerce and culture – no one else does that.‘’

The event is scheduled for June 22 to 24, 2010.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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British company Clenergen to lease 8,000 hectares of land in Ghana for biomass project, but minister cautions foreign investors

A British energy company Clenergen says as part of its plans to start commercial trials of its tree species and bamboo for biomass, it is acquiring land to grow trees in some countries including Ghana.

The company says it is leasing 8,000 hectares of land in Ghana for the purpose, its Environment Director and Cofounder Jessica Hatfield told ghanabusinessnews.com in a telephone interview from her London office Wednesday June 16. The lease she said is for 49 years.

In a press release issued in May however, Clenergen said that it had signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Growmore Biotech to undertake commercial trials of Clenergen’s tree species and bamboo on 900 acres of land under agreement in India, Ghana, Guyana and Philippines. Currently the company have scheduled 22,000 acres under 49 year lease agreements in these regions, which are projected to yield over 880,000 tonnes of biomass per annum by 2014 and provide fuel supply for 110MW/h of biomass power plant capacity.

Hatfield said 5,000 hectares of the land to be leased in Ghana is in the north of the country, but declined to say exactly where in the north of Ghana. She also declined to say which part of Ghana, the other 3,000 hectares of land will be leased from citing confidentiality of the deal as a reason.

According to Hatfield, until after the end of June when the deal will be completed, details remain confidential.

Meanwhile the Minister of Lands, Forestry and Natural Resources, Collins Dauda has sounded a precautionary note to investors in land in Ghana. He told ghanabusinessnews.com on the phone that “it is not advisable for foreign investors to acquire such large tracts of land for plantations.”

According to him communities that lease land to investors do so looking at their current economic situation. But as they grow, and some of them grow into urban areas pressure begins to bear on the land acquired by investors.

He said it gets to a point where these investors would be compelled to cede part of the land they have acquired to the communities.

He said most of these communities are agrarian, and they depend on the land for farming, and in cases where land is unavailable, some communities have encroached on forest reserves with its attendant problems.

He said “even government has similar problems that it is having difficulties dealing with.”

“We are not encouraging land owners to give large tracts of land to investors, because as the economic situations of the communities change, they would come back demanding their land,” he said.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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IFC to give $150m support for Ghana’s FPSO

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group says it will provide $150 million direct assistance to the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel and an additional $520 million syndicated financial support together with other financial institutions for oil production in Ghana.

The FPSO is due to arrive in Ghana from Singapore for the commercial production of oil scheduled for December at the Jubilee oil field.

The IFC says it is committed to increasing its activities to support Ghana’s sustainable economic growth by working “more closely with the World Bank, government and the private sector” to create more opportunities for entrepreneurs and businesses.

The Executive Vice President and CEO of the IFC, Lars Thunell told the media in Accra Wednesday June 16, 2010 at a press conference that the “IFC will support Ghana’s commitment to rapid development with robust private sector investments.”

The IFC says it will provide funding for the SME sector in Ghana, supporting ICT, agriculture, the financial sector and trade financing.

Last year the IFC provided a total of $215 million for Tullow Oil and Kosmos Energy for their exploration activities at the Jubilee field. Tullow received $115 million and Kosmos had $100 million.

The IFC’s current investment portfolio in Ghana totals about $533 million.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Indian companies acquire land in Ghana, other African countries for commercial farming

Companies from India, including those not into farming are now leasing land in Ghana and other African countries for farming.

The Indian business community is following in the steps of one of its contemporaries who ventured into farming on the continent and succeeded, The Economic Times of India has reported.  Sai Ramakrishna Karuturi,  a Bangalore businessman acquired land in Ethiopia and Kenya to grow roses and he has become so successful the Indian media describe him as the biggest rose grower in the world.

According to the report there are roughly about 70 Indian companies which are already in the process of making a foray into the farming sector in Africa. The countries which offer big opportunities include Ethiopia, Malawi, Kenya, Uganda, Liberia, Congo, Rwanda and Ghana, it added.

The Tata group has been given a land lease in Uganda to run a pilot agricultural project, while the Jaipurias of RJ Corp have a lease of a 50-acre model dairy farm. The latter is already active in dairy products in African markets such as Uganda and Kenya, the report said.

Construction major Shapoorji Pallonji & Co has acquired the lease for 50,000 hectares of land in Ethiopia and may look at agricultural projects in future. And it’s not just large Indian companies, small and medium enterprises in sectors ranging from spices and tea to chemicals are looking at entering the commercial agriculture space in Africa.

In March 2009 a ghanabusinessnews.com report said Indian companies were entering the biofuel sector in the country.

The Ghana subsidiary of an Indian company, the Mumbai-based Hazel Mercantile, a distributor of chemicals and petrochemical products was reported to be investing about $45 million to cultivate Jatropha to produce biofuel in Ghana. The Indian companies were said to be requesting for about 50,000 hectares of land.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Cocoa smugglers deny Ghana GH¢192m in revenue

Smugglers of Ghana’s chief export product, cocoa may deny the country revenue of about GH¢192 million during the 2009/2010 season.

A Bloomberg news report quoting the CEO of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Tony Fofie says Ghana is likely to lose between 60,000 to 80,000 tons of cocoa to smugglers during this season.

And according to an official of the COCOBOD a ton of cocoa is GH¢2,400. Multiplying this by 80,000 tons would result in the loss of revenue to the country to the tune of GH¢192 million.

Cocoa is Ghana’s major foreign exchange earner. Provisional data on the external sector indicate that Ghana’s total merchandise exports for the first quarter of 2010 amounted to $1.7 billion, a growth of 20.9% on year-on-year basis and cocoa beans and products earned $704.1 million dollars, an increase of 28.5% and gold earned $678.2 million, an increase of 16.5$, according to the Bank of Ghana.

These, the central bank said compared with 35.9% in the export of cocoa beans and products in 2009 and a decline of 4.4% in gold exports.

The Bank also indicated that concerns existed over the attainment of the 2009/2010 major season target of 650,000 tonnes of cocoa purchases.

By the first week of April 2010, only 518,304 tonnes had been purchased compared with 562,538 tonnes at the same time during the 2008/2009 crop season.

The crop size at the close of the 2008/2009 season was 634,256 tonnes.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghanaians jubilate as Black Stars beat Serbia 1-0 at 2010 World Cup

It was all joy, excitement and jubilation across Ghana as the senior national team the Black Stars made history at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa when it became the first African nation at the tournament to win its first match, from the first penalty of the competition.

A more determined and well composed  young Ghanaian team stood against a more matured Serbian team and beat them by a lone goal. The goal was scored in the 85th minute from a penalty kick by striker Asamoah Gyan.

The Serb’s who came under intense pressure from the Stars caved in as Zdravko Kuzmanovic handled the ball to give the Ghanaians the penalty.

Earlier on Aleksandar Lukovic was sent off after receiving a second yellow card.

South Africa played a 1-1 drawn game with Mexico in the opening game of the competition, Nigeria, lost one-nil to Argentina and Algeria was beaten one-nil by Slovenia.

In Ghana, citizens from all walks of life burst out into the streets blowing their vuvuzela, shouting, singing and dancing and motorists touted their horns.

Meanwhile, Information reaching ghanabusinessnews.com from the Korle-bu Teaching Hospital says about eight people have been rushed in with various degrees of wounds. They were said to have been injured while they celebrated the Black Stars’ victory.

Click here to see more photos of the jubilation.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana gets technology for monitoring mining and oil revenue

The Ministry of Finance is getting software that will be used to monitor and analyze payments and revenue flows from the country’s mining as well as from future oil and gas production. The solution will enable Ghana to efficiently quantify revenue flows to government and other stakeholders, identifying reasons for any shortfalls or overshoots.

The product is a donation from SAP, a German company.  The company says on its website that it is the world’s leading provider of business software. The donation came through a partnership between SAP and GTZ, the German government overseas technical assistance unit acting on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

According to a press release from SAP, the partnership is meant to support Ghana in meeting the global standard for transparency in the oil and mining industries as set by the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).

Speaking at workshop in Accra, the deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Seth Terkpeh said, “The EITI process is a useful tool in augmenting the government’s efforts to improve existing structures on accountability and transparency. Successfully introducing an IT system to the EITI process will be a very significant addition to the process in Ghana.”

He added that the Ghana EITI process will tie in very well with the Ministry’s own agenda on Public Financial Management Reforms (PFM), particularly the Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS).

Mining has been going on in Ghana for over 100 years. Gold, diamond, manganese and bauxite are mined in Ghana. Local communities have always agitated for transparency and accountability often leading to conflict between local communities and companies mining in these areas.

Ghana is due to start commercial production of oil in December this year .

This development therefore, especially in tying it to the EITI makes it desirable and relevant for the country as transparency in the emerging oil and gas sector is necessary.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghanaian banks warned of risks in oil and gas sector

The governor of the Bank of Ghana has warned banks in the country to be mindful of the risks inherent in the country’s nascent oil and gas industry.

Kwesi Amissah-Arthur who was speaking at the launch of the 2009 Banking Survey in Accra Thursday June 10, 2010, asked Ghanaian banks to focus their attention on the need to increase their in-house capacity for risk analysis in the emerging oil and gas sector and the capital market indicating that it was these two sub-sectors that created problems for the five banks that were taken over by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

He said, “Incidentally the affected banks were opening their books to these sectors for the first time.”

“From the benefit of hindsight it is obvious that there was poor risk analysis of exposures to these sectors,” he said.

Last year the Central Bank of Nigeria fired the chief executives of five banks, and ordered the banks closed over mounting debt crisis in that country’s banking sector. The governor of the bank, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi then injected 400 billion naira, about $2.6 billion into these banks to recapitalize them.

The CEOs worked for the Intercontinental Bank Plc, Oceanic Bank Plc, Union Bank Plc, FinBank Plc and Afribank Plc.

Amissah-Arthur urged Ghanaian banks to learn from the examples of the Nigerian banks. “There is no doubt that Ghanaian banks have many lessons to learn from developments in Nigeria and in the West. The first lesson is that poor risk analysis can have a debilitating effect on banking operations,” he said.

He warned that ignoring the dangers of credit, market, operational risks, even in a situation of high capital, can be problematic, adding that banking is not simply deposit mobilization and lending, but it is also about risk analysis and strategic deployment of funds to earn commensurate returns at minimal risk.

He also said banking is not about bigger balance sheets or the fastest growing banks, although size and growth rate are important dynamics in banking.

Amissah-Arthur, said the issue is not about the banks’ lack of expertise in the oil and gas sector, but they must invest in capacity building in risk management especially for emerging sectors of the Ghanaian economy.

Ghana is on course to become an oil producing country when commercial production of oil begins in December this year. The discovery of oil in commercial quantity in the country was announced in June 2007.

Ghana has the largest oil field to be discovered in West Africa in the last 10 to 15 years, the Jubilee oil field. It has 17 wells and is said to contain 1.8 billion barrels of oil.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Tullow Oil finds more oil in Mahogany-5 well, moves to Cape Three Points

UK oil and gas explorer, Tullow Oil announces a new oil find in Ghana ‘s Mahogany-5 well southeast of the Jubilee Field offshore and moves to start exploration in the country’s Cape Three Points.

Tullow Oil has said in a press release copied to ghanabusinessnews.com Wednesday June 9, 2010 that the results of drilling, wireline logs and reservoir fluid samples show that the well penetrated a total net oil pay of 23 metres in sandstone reservoirs over a gross interval of 51 metres. Reservoir fluid samples recovered 28-32 degree API oil and pressure data have confirmed reservoir communication with the previously drilled Mahogany-4 well.

Commenting on the development, Tullow Oil’s Exploration Director, Anguss McCoss said “We have now encountered oil in four out of five wells in the exploration and appraisal programme in the area immediately to the southeast of the Jubilee Field. Future exploratory drilling in the West Cape Three Points licence, including the adjacent Teak, Dahoma-Updip and South Central Channel prospects, aims to discover even more hydrocarbons to further enhance the commercial development of this licence.”

Tullow has a 22.896% interest in the West Cape Three Points licence which is operated by Kosmos Energy.

Ghana will become an oil producing country in December when commercial production of oil begins in the country.  And this new find goes further to confirm the country’s new found economy in oil.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana’s mobile penetration expected to hit 100% in 2013

Ghana’s mobile phone industry has been cited as the fastest growing industry. With five of the six licensed mobile phone companies in operation the sector has seen exponential growth.

A research firm, Companies and Markets is predicting that the country’s mobile phone penetration will “push through the 100% barrier in early 2013.”

In a recently published market research report on Ghana in which the company extended all its forecasts to 2014, it admitted that there, however, haven’t been any significant changes in the forecasts.

According to the report, the change is going to be fueled largely by the five or possibly six mobile phone companies. The companies are MTN, Tigo, Vodafone, Kasapa and Zain. The sixth company Globacom is yet to start operations.

The report indicates that the country’s mobile penetration is expected to reach 60% before the end of 2009. This will mean that it ends the year with close to 15 million mobile subscribers, which indicates a 27% expansion of the subscriber base during 2009. This is down from 57% in 2008, but this is very much a natural evolution thanks to a gradually maturing mobile market, it added.

There are however conflicting views and figures regarding mobile penetration in Ghana.

The Deputy Director, Engineering of the National Communications Authority (NCA), Henry Kanor recently said that mobile phones will be used approximately by 80% of Ghanaians by close of 2010.

He however added this assertion is far from the reality, because many individuals in Ghana possess two, three or more mobile phones with chips from nearly all the service providers. The reason he said was so that they will benefit from discriminatory services that the companies provided.

He argued further that a realistic figure of the mobile penetration in the country can only be arrived at when mobile phone users register their sim cards. The exercise has already started and it is expected to come to a close in July 2011.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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E-waste in Ghana – How many children are dying from lead poisoning?

News this week about over hundred people including children dying from lead poisoning in Zamfara State in Nigeria raises lots of concern, and must sound the warning alarm for Ghana in the light of the e-waste dumping that goes on in the country.

According to the BBC some 163 people have died from lead poisoning and there are fears that many more are likely to die. The deaths occurred after local people started digging for gold in areas high in concentrations of lead.

Ghana has been identified as a dumping ground for electronics waste or  e-waste from the UK, the USA and other European countries. Evidence uncovered by both local and international media including organizations like the Greenpeace shows that the West’s e-waste is being dumped in Ghana.

E-waste is known to contain a cocktail of poisonous chemicals that are released into the atmosphere and underground water and these chemicals contain substances like lead, mercury and arsenic.

Indeed, apart from e-waste that is brought in from outside the country, e-waste is also generated locally. Most Ghanaians have no idea what to do with their obsolete mobile phones, TV sets, sound systems, refrigerators and computers. Some simply dump these at repair shops and others onto waste dumps.

On a trip around some of Accra’s electronics items shops, one sees large numbers of obviously outmoded and unusable electronics items in store.

Lack of a national policy and or national collection points for such items make local generation of e-waste another source of concern. But what should be more worrying is the news from Nigeria that people are dying from lead poisoning.

It is not known yet if a conclusive study has been carried out in Ghana regarding lead poisoning from e-waste. But information available says some samples have been taken from some young people who work at the Agbogbogbloshie dump dismantling old electronics items and burning the cables to extract the copper for testing.

The Greenpeace had done a lab test of the soil and water at Agbogbloshie from where electronics items are dismantled and the cables put on fire to remove the copper wires. The results of the Greenpeace test showed that the soil in the area contained toxic chemicals at levels a hundred times more than allowable limits.

With these evidences, it is clear that Ghanaians are exposed to a great deal of chemical dangers from e-waste, but it appears there are no proactive efforts to stem the tide before the situation gets out of hand.

If Ghanaians are unaware of the dangers posed to human health and life, the news from Nigeria should be enough to wake the country up to the time bomb we are sitting on as unknown numbers of Ghanaians could be dying from chemical poisoning from e-waste.

In a recent email communication with the UK’s Environment Agency (EA), an official told ghanabusinessnews.com that they have concluded investigations into allegations that some recycling companies in the UK contracted to recycle e-waste have been dumping these into Ghana. The EA said they have handed the findings to their lawyers.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana exports €31m worth of wood products, Nigeria is biggest importer

Ghana’s wood products export for the first quarter of 2010 is worth €31 million, and Nigeria is the biggest market.

According to the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), Nigeria imported about 80% of wood products from Ghana.

The country’s total exports amounted to 97,490 cubic metres, and compared to the same period last year, it is an increase of 4.3% in volume. The ITTO report also indicated that Ghana’s wood products exports to other African countries accounted for 40% of the total export value.

As a result of the global economic crisis, Ghana’s timber products exports saw further decline in the first quarter of 2009. The ITTO report for the period said the country experienced a total contract volume of 107,184m3 and 1,801 pieces of furniture parts, representing 29.6% and 81% falls respectively compared with the previous quarter in 2008.

The first quarter report for 2010 shows that primary products (poles and billets) accounted for €2 million, secondary products €27 million and tertiary products € 2.4 million of the total export value.

Plywood, kiln-dried and air-dried lumbers were the major export products during the first quarter of  2010 contributing 37%, 19% and 17% respectively to the total export volume. The share of veneer in the total export volume was 9%. No furniture parts were exported in the first quarter 2010 as was the case in the same period in 2009, it said.

The report however indicated that plywood exports to other African countries in the period amounted to 34,800 cubic metres, up 7.8% compared to 32,300 cubic metres in 2009.

The main importing country of Ghana’s wood products was Nigeria with 80% share of the total exports. Other importing countries were Burkina Faso and Togo. Ceiba, Mahogany, Chenchen and Mixed Red Wood were the principal species for plywood production, the report said.

Both air- and kiln dried lumber exports expanded. Air dried lumber exports rose from 13,150 cubic metres recorded in the 1Q 2009 to 16,550 cubic metres this year.

Kiln dried exports increased from 14,510 cubic metres in the 1Q 2009 to 18,960 cubic metres in the same period this year. Wawa, Mahogany, Sapele, Koto/Kyere, Teak, and Ofram were the major sawnwood species exported. Germany, the USA, the UK and France were the principal importing countries.

Ghana became the first country to sign a voluntary partnership agreement with the European Union that will allow only legally harvested timber from the country to be exported to the European market. The agreement was signed November 20, 2009 in Brussels.

According to reports available to ghanabusinessnews.com, the agreement which is in keeping with the European Union’s Forest Law Enforcement, Government and Trade (FLEG) action plan establishes the legal framework of surveillance and monitoring aimed at ensuring that all timber imports into the EU have been acquired, harvested, transported and exported in accordance with the law in Ghana. The agreement also creates a national legality assurance system for all timber and timber products sold in the EU, on non-EU markets and on the domestic market. It also provides for independent third-party audits of the entire legality assurance system to guarantee credibility and effective verification and licensing.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana could benefit from $50m CDC investment portfolio for forestry

Ghana could potentially benefit from a $50 million private sector investment portfolio of the CDC. The CDC is the UK government-owned development finance institution.

In a press release copied to ghanabusinessnews.com the CDC announced the commitment of $50 million to its first private equity fund to focus solely on sustainable forestry in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Communications Manager of the CDC, Rhyddid Carter told ghanabusinessnews.com on the telephone that the fund manager of the portfolio, Global Environment Fund (GEF) has so far raised $84 million for the GEF Africa Sustainable Forestry Fund (GASFF).  The fund has a target of $150 million.

The initial investment, the release indicated is to help to develop and grow businesses in the expanding forestry sector in Africa and create jobs for local people. It also has a component for broader potential ecological benefits.

According to the release, the fund is targeting commercial returns, and is expected to invest in and develop between five and 10 forestry businesses across sub-Saharan Africa, with a particular focus on greenfield and existing plantations. The forestry businesses it said, will grow, process and market timber products to meet the growing global demand from industries including construction, energy, furniture and bio-fuel.

The GASFF fund, which closed on May 24, 2010, will start to make investments immediately, with an investment size typically between $15 million and $30 million. The countries that could potentially benefit from the fund  include Mozambique, Tanzania, Swaziland, South Africa, Uganda, Malawi, Zambia and Ghana. These countries have been identified to have good opportunities for forestry investments.

The fund’s investments will drive economic improvement in the communities in which it invests through direct employment, local taxes, support for local schools, and other community projects.

The fund’s investments will also support the basic needs of employees and families, including housing, schools, clinics, clean water, nutrition programs and job training, the release said.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana Fire Service gets $41m Exim-Bank loan for equipment

The Ghana National Fire Service will soon receive 121 customised fire fighting vehicles from the USA.

News reports from the US reaching ghanabusinessnews.com says the Export-Import Bank of the United States has guaranteed a $41 million loan for the vehicles which will be built by four subsidiaries of a US company Oshkosh Corporation. The deal has also been guaranteed by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.

The loan according to the information will be secured from the Societe Generale in New York City.

The subsidiaries which will together work on the deal are; Pierce Manufacturing Inc., Appleton, will supply 90 pumper trucks, 10 tanker trucks and four aerial ladder trucks; Jerr-Dan Corporation Greencastle, Pa., 13 recovery trucks; Iowa Mold Tooling Co. Inc., Garner, Iowa, four service vehicles and spare parts and Oshkosh Specialty Vehicles Inc., Harvey, Ill., four mobile breathing air compressors.

Fire outbreaks have become literally a daily occurrence in Ghana. Residencies, communities and even government buildings and offices, including the 10-storey office building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been razed down by fire, and in most of these cases, the Fire Service even though got to the sites, were unable to handle the fires because they are under-resourced. There are also the challenges of poor city planning and lack of cooperation from the public.

Hopefully, these new equipment when supplied will augment the service’s outdated equipment.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghanaians to pay 19 cents per minute for inbound international calls

Ghana’s mobile phone subscribers will be paying a flat rate of 19 US cents a minute for all inbound international calls that they receive if an order by the Ministry of Communications comes into force.

A Ghana News Agency report has said when the order is enforced with strict monitoring by a Haitian company, Global Voices Group (GVG) SA, and the National Communications Authority (NCA) the country would generate at $60 million a year in the form of taxes on the inbound international calls.

Currently there are five mobile phone companies operating in Ghana, a sixth is yet to start operations, and they altogether have over 15 million subscribers among Ghana’s about 22 million population.

Sometime this year, the Minister of Communications, Haruna Iddrisu had said that in March 2010 alone, government lost $5.8 million in revenue due to fraudulent termination of international calls coming into Ghana.

He told journalists that international calls are being terminated on mobile phones as local cell phone numbers. He said this fraud is being perpetrated by unidentified persons, adding that so far about 3,000 landline and cell phone numbers have been identified as being used for that fraud.

Iddrisu said the Ministry has been able to ascertain the actual quantum of the losses through the help of GVG.

To implement this new regulation, call signals would have to go through the Intelligence Signal Management System (ISMS) equipment and that could affect the quality of the call at the receiving end, the mobile phone companies in Ghana have all said.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Call quality will get worse – Ghana mobile phone companies warn

While consumers are agitating for better quality service from telecom operators, some service providers and telecom experts have predicted that call quality would even become worse when the government’s inbound international calls monitoring programme becomes fully operational.

Mr Isaac Cudjoe, Head of Corporate Communications at Vodafone Ghana, told Ghana News Agency that the foreign company hired to monitor inbound international calls would bring additional equipment, which would worsen the already problematic general call quality in the country.

“Our industry already has an innate call quality problem and we are bringing on more equipment to further worsen it,” he said.

Mr Bob Palitz, a telecom consult and former Managing Director of Kasapa Telecom, agreed with Mr Cudjoe, saying that the call signals would have to go through the Intelligence Signal Management System (ISMS) equipment and that could affect the quality of the call at the receiving end.

He added that due to monitoring, lots of people would also resort to the fraudulent bypass system and that could also increase poor quality of calls since the sim boxes used for perpetrating the bypass also tended to interfere with the quality of the signals.

In spite of the fact that all five fully operational telecom service providers in Ghana are multi-nationals who claim to have brought the best telephony technology to the country, their subscribers, all together numbering over 15 million, continue to experience a myriad of network challenges through which subscribers lose money, business deals and sometimes relationships.

Some of the challenges include frequent call drops, cross calls, speech mutations, and calls not going through, wrong voice prompts, connection error and several others.

The Consumer Protection Agency (CPA), led by Mr Kofi Kapito, on Thursday, May 27, led a cross-section of Ghanaians to switch off their mobile phones for six hours in protest of poor quality network service.

The CPA also went on a march and presented a petition to the Minister of Communications on that same day to register their grievances, and asked the Minister to take steps to ensure that telecom operators gave their subscribers value for money.

Contrary to the hopes of CPA and many Ghanaians, Vodafone says that government’s move to monitor inbound international calls to generate more revenue for the state was rather threatening to worsen call quality, particularly calls from overseas to Ghana.

But government says it would go ahead with the call monitoring to prevent the heavy losses of about 5.8 million dollars a month in taxes on inbound international calls.

Fraudsters suspected to be conniving with some unidentified persons within telecom companies both in Ghana and abroad have been re-routing inbound international calls through sim boxes rigged in a manner that enables them to make international calls terminate on people’s handsets as local numbers.

That way the fraudsters succeed in making the call look like a local call and both the local telecom operators and government lose money in the form of tariffs and taxes respectively, on those calls.

The Ministry of Communications said it had been able to ascertain the actual quantum of the losses through the help of a Haitian company, Global Voices Group (GVG) SA, which had been contracted by government to help the National Communications Authority (NCA) to undertake call verification in the country.

Government has therefore asked all telecom operators to start charging a fix rate 0.19 dollar a minute for all inbound international calls, saying that with strict monitoring by GVG and NCA, it was sure to generate at least 60 million dollars a year in the form of taxes on inbound international calls only.

Some consumer rights groups such as the Alliance for Accountable Government have challenged the employment of GVG, citing the compromise of national security and the privacy of phone users, procedural breaches in their appointment among other things.

But government has insisted that there were laws that protected people’s privacy and national security in this whole process.

Meanwhile, telecom operators have said that in spite of the laws, in practice, there was no way that people’s private data and national security were protected from being seen and manipulated by handlers of the monitoring equipment.

Source: GNA

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New utility tariffs announced, government pays GH¢48m subsidy

New tariffs for water and electricity have been announced, anf the government makes intervention for poor.

The Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC) announced the new tariffs Monday May 31 to come into effect Tuesday June 1, 2010.

According to the chairman of the Commission , Dr. E. K. Annan who made the announcement at a press conference, residential users of electricity who use between 0-50 units will continue to pay Gp9.5 per kilowatt hour. There has not been an increase for this category of consumers.

He however announced a 42% increase for consumers who consume between 51-150 units. They will now pay Gp17 from Gp12.

Water consumers who consume between 0-20 cubic metres will pay Gp80 from Gp66, a 21% increase and those who consume above that will pay Gp120.

Meanwhile, the government says it has decided to absorb in excess of GH¢48 million as subsidy on behalf of the domestic consumer class, who usually consume between 0 and 50 units in order to bridge the gap between residential tariff and the full and actual cost of consumption.

It said in a press statement, “The subsidy we are providing the already overburdened domestic consumer is intended to relieve them of any further hardship, while we continue to work towards creating a Better Ghana.”

It also urged the Ghana Water Company Limited and the Electricity Company of Ghana to reduce their operational and financial wastage to ensure that they provide the best of service to consumers.

The government owes the companies an estimated Gh¢80 million. And in the statement government indicated that it is working on a plan to pay off the huge water and electricity bill and urged the companies to strengthen debt collection and move to clamp down on illegal connections.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana has no imminent water crisis – GWC official

Although studies have shown that global water resources are dwindling, which makes the scarcity of freshwater imminent, Ghanaians have been assured that Ghana does not face that looming threat – at least, not anytime soon.

According to the Chief Manager, Public Relations of Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), Mr. Michael Agyeman, Ghana currently uses a very insignificant percentage of its water resource to meet its water needs, which he puts at about 0.0005%.

“From where I sit, even if I am looking at Accra water – we depend on the Volta Lake. And it looks like from our calculations, we are not taking more than 1% of the volume of water that is even flowing into the sea at Kpong. By calculations, I think 0.0005% or something of that sort, so I know that we have a lot of water and if you look at where Kpong is, we are not even depending on the lake – the water in the lake for the dam.

“We are abstracting water from outside the dam – that means that it is the water that is fleeing into the sea that we are using to treat for people to drink. And looking at it all, we don’t stand in any immediate danger of losing our water resource,” he assured.

Mr. Michael Agyeman stated categorically too that even if the level of water in the Akosombo dam reduces as has been experienced lately, it is only generation of power that will be affected because the low water level cannot turn the turbines.

He said it will not affect supply of water to GWCL for treated to consumers because their intake point is very low and downstream the dam, “unless perhaps we have the whole lake drying and becoming bare then that is where we have a problem but from the look of things we haven’t come to that level.”

This he said, means that barring any unforeseen circumstances, Ghana is assured of a constant supply of potable water for a long period, as there is enough raw water for now, to produce for people to drink, though he could not say for how long the country’s water resource will last.
“We are not having problem with drying up of water now as it used to be,” he emphasised.

In an exclusive interview with ghanabusinessnews.com during a national dialogue on the rights to water and sanitation in Accra on Thursday May 27, 2010, Mr. Agyeman stated that available statistics indicate that just a minute portion of the Volta Lake, which is Ghana’s largest freshwater resource, is treated and passed on as potable water to the consuming public.

He added that another resource – the Weija Lake, which serves western Accra, is not being tapped to full capacity. He said even though the safe yield is 70 million gallons a day, “at the moment we are doing 55 million gallons a day,” adding “we are aware that all things being equal (if degradations don’t go on), then the safe yield of the lake is 70 million gallons, which means we can even do 15 million gallons more.”

The GWCL Public Relations Manager disclosed to ghanabusinessnews.com that to check the degradation and pollution going on at the Weija Lake, the Water Resources Commission has formed the Weija Basin Committee, which has been tasked with checking the pollution of the water resource and that available information now suggests that the quality of the water is improving.

He also indicated that there is now improved water supply at places of chronic shortage such as Adenta and Teshie in Accra and Cape Coast in the Central Region. “We expanded the Cape Coast water supply system; in fact we have built a new one completely. Formerly we were depending on the Brimso dam, which was built in 1928…built by Gordon Guggisburg,” Governor of the then Gold Coast, he stated.

He further disclosed that the new system has been built on the Pra River, where the water is treated, in addition to the Brimso. “Now water shortage is a thing of the past,” he averred.

Agreeing that if the Volta Basin shareholders such as Burkina Faso decide to also build a dam on the river it will change all that assurance, he said because there are some protocol and trans-boundary agreements with them, he believed nothing of that sort will be done before first consulting Ghana.

Speaking on the decision by Ghana to send water to Togo which has in the recent past generated a lot of debate among Ghanaians, Mr. Agyeman said negotiations are still ongoing with Togolese authorities, explaining that it will not be the treated water from Ghana that will be transferred to Togo after the negotiations as was believed by many Ghanaians.

Instead, he said “it is a new project altogether. Don’t  forget they also have a right to the Volta Lake because the lake is being shared by all the countries in West Africa,” adding, “In fact we have Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo and even Mali.”

The GWCL Chief Manager said the countries all depend and have access to the lake and that “if Burkina Faso decides to cut off we are in crisis and some of the tributaries are also coming from Togo, so we have an agreement where they can also treat our raw water.”

He added that Togo wants to, in collaboration with Ghana, get some money and then set up their own treatment plant and then send the water to their home country.

According to Mr. Agyeman, the advantage of the agreement when it is finalised with Togo, will be that Ghana will get some water for all the about 26 towns and villages along the pipeline, from Sogakope to Lome.

“So the money is not coming from Ghana; the treated water is not Ghana’s water; we are going to add on to what we have,” he stressed.

Concurring that many in Ghana do not have access to potable water, Mr. Michael Agyeman said it is the responsibility of the Ghana government to source for funds to expand existing treatment plants to get more water for communities, villages and towns that still do not have access to potable or treated water, asserting that ongoing deliberations with Togo is a result of an initiative from that government.

By Edmund Smith-Asante

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Newmont Gold Ghana responds to farmers’ allegations against Akyem Project

Newmont Gold Ghana has responded to a number of allegations leveled against it by some farmers about possible effects of its operations at the Akyem Project.

The farmers have argued that the River Pra would dry up when the Project, that would destroy the Ajenua-Bepo Forest Reserve, takes off.

In a communiqué issued at the end of a three-day workshop on “Human Rights for Mining Communities in Akyem Kotoku Area” held at Koforidua,the farmers said seven tributaries of the Pra River that take their sources from the Ajenu-Bepo Forest Reserve would be destroyed, the GNA reported.

The farmers, according to the report said the tributaries, on which the communities in the area depend, are Sentrifa; Awro; Adenkyensu; Akwasi-Akwasi; Aprapun; Yayaa and Adotosu. In addition, they said, the Project intends to pump water from Upper Pra River for its operations. The farmers said the destruction of the Ajenua Bepo, which is the highest mountain in the area and enhances relief rainfall, would lead to the creation of a micro-climate that would negatively impact on farming in surrounding areas of the Project and thus destroy the livelihoods of many farmers.

The workshop, under the theme; “Human Rights Violations and the Problems Associated with Newmont Akyem Project”; was organised by WACAM, a human rights and mining advocacy nongovernmental organization, with the support of Oxfam America. The participants were farmers drawn from Hweakwae; Yayaso; Adausena, Ntronang and Mamanso, all communities to be affected by the operations of Newmont Akyem Project in the Eastern Region of Ghana.

But in a swift reaction, Newmont Gold Ghana has debunked all the accusations. In a point by point response copied to ghanabusinessnews.com,  Newmont said the proposed Akyem Project footprint is not in the course of any rivers perennially flowing through the broader Birim North area, arguing that watercourses that drain the Akyem Project Area and flow into the Pra and Mamang rivers (including those emanating from the Ajenjua Bepo Forest Reserve) are ephemeral and flow only during the wet seasons (totaling about four months a year) when they have sufficient magnitude to cause water runoff.

According to Newmont, three of the ephemeral streams, Akwasi – Akwasi, Adenttonsu and Yaayaa streams, located within the Project area, which flow only during the wet season will be impacted by the project. The watercourses of these rivers would be channeled through drains. Plans will be made to divert these drainages around the open pit and other mine features to route the runoff water into the receiving streams, minimizing the change in portions of the stream channel caused by the project.  The locations of these drainages have been established, Newmont said.

In response to the accusation that Newmont will pump water from the Pra River which will make the river dry up, the company said the Water Resources Commission has strictly monitored guidelines on water drawn from rivers for mining purposes. The levels of water pumped for mining when production begins at the Akyem Project will be monitored by the Water Resources Commission, the regulatory agency mandated to ensure that water pumped for mining purposes does not adversely impact downstream usage including communities’ water usage patterns.

The Water Resources Commission will give the Akyem Project a Water Use Permit and Schedule indicating the volume of water and periods water can be pumped. As part of the monitoring process, the Project will be required to regularly submit its water usage patterns and the amounts drawn from the River Pra. Pumping is not allowed during the dry seasons due to low water levels and water runoff during the rainy season will be stored for usage during the dry season.

“We will be recycling water within the Plant to minimize drawing water from the rivers. The company will also be required to install a water level gauge as a means of checking it is not pumping above the set water level. To ensure the company is operating within the approved drawn down levels, the Water Resources Commission regularly conducts field trips to ascertain water usage pattern and adherence to the issued Water Permit and same will apply to the Akyem Project when production commences,” Newmont said.

On the allegation that mining will destroy the Ajenua mountain, and subsequently agriculture, Newmont said the area to be mined within the Ajenjua Bepo Forest reserve makes up only about 3.8% of the total footprint of the Akyem Project mining area. The rest of the project area will be situated outside Ajenjua Bepo forest.

“The small fraction (7%, representing 44 hectares) of the 569 hectares Ajenjua Bepo forest that will be directly impacted by our mining activity is in poor condition with only small true forest patches and poor connectivity to other forest communities,” Newmont said.

The impacted forest area forms in its entirety, 0.04% of the over 18,000 hectares of total District forest reserve area. This land size will not have a lasting impact on rainfall levels of the area. All surface land disturbance areas will be revegetated during and after the mine operation. This will return those areas to normal hydrologic function in terms of rainfall runoff and retention.

Newmont insisted that its activities at the Akyem Project will not impact on livelihoods, indicating that ahead of actual mining in Akyem, the company has already invested $460,000 in training Akyem community members in various alternative livelihood programs including Batik/Tie-and-Dye, soap-making through programmes implemented by Opportunities Industrialisation Centres International (OICI) and Organization for Livelihood Enhancement Services (OLIVES), as at December 2009.

The company also said it has invested over $16 million on crop compensation and $21 million on livelihood re-establishment and training and empowering of the farmers impacted by our mining activities at its Ahafo Mine.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Weaknesses in Ghana’s petroleum bill pointed out

Ghana is set to join the league of the world’s oil producing countries at the end of December 2010, and some keen observers of the nascent industry are looking at the country’s yet to be passed Petroleum Law.

An official of the country’s Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has pointed out some weak points in the petroleum draft bill yet to reach parliament.

Charles Ayamdoo who is the Director of Anti-corruption at the CHRAJ has been reported by the Daily Graphic as describing some aspects of the Ghana Upstream Petroleum Authority Draft Bill as weak and calling for reconsideration.

The bill has the objective of strengthening the legal framework to cope with the challenges of modern oil industry and to convey the importance the government attaches to the petroleum industry.

Under the bill an authority is to be established to regulate, oversee and monitor activities in the upstream and midstream petroleum industry.

Ayamdoo indicated that the provisions of the bill establishing the supervising body, were not good enough to protect the authority from political manipulation. The authority is also not given financial autonomy, because it is to be funded with money provided by Parliament.

Article 3.0 of the bill which provides for the independence of the authority states: “The authority shall not, in the performance of its functions, be subject to the control or direction of a person or an authority other than the minister assigned responsibility by the president who may give policy directions.”

He argued further that by putting the authority under the minister who was assigned responsibility of the sector by the president does not guarantee the authority’s independence.

He also pointed out a confidentiality clause which says, “Subject to this Act, a licensee shall keep data submitted by that licensee to the authority in confidence;” adding that classified information could be disclosed with “prior written consent of the licensee.” In his view the confidentiality clauses, if allowed to stay in the original form would prevent public scrutiny of contract details, asking that those clauses should be made illegal.

Another weakness he pointed out is the procurement processes in the bill which were not subject to the country’s Public Procurement Act 2003 (Act 663).

Calling for amendments to these weaknesses, he also indicated that there were some positives in the bill such as clauses on indigenous participation in the sector, employment and training of nationals, the quota system, use of local suppliers and issues of conflict of interest and protection of public property.

The importance of the Petroleum Bill which is yet to be put before Parliament cannot be overemphasized as the development of the country’s new found resource would largely depend on the law to regulate it.

Most Ghanaians are wary of the future of the oil industry being informed by the country’s gold mining sector. Gold mining has been going on in Ghana for over 100 years, but in the views of many Ghanaians the country has not benefitted as it ought to from mining and they are hopeful it will not be the case with the oil industry.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Globacom claim to pull out of Ghana a media hype?

News broke this morning that Globacom is threatening to pull out of Ghana and divert its investments elsewhere citing the activities of saboteurs to its ongoing roll out plans.

The Daily Graphic newspaper citing authoritative sources reports that the telecommunications company which is the sixth to be licensed to operate in Ghana says it is facing so many challenges from some interests bent on sabotaging the company’s nationwide take-off plans. According to the report, officials of Globacom have declined comment.

The report says Globacom’s advertising and branding structures have been vandalized by unidentified persons. It also said in one case Globacom’s brand marks were destroyed at a location where one of its competitors has its own, but these were not touched.

Since the statements are not directly linked to Globacom officials, it would be difficult at this stage to say whether it is the company’s official position, but it is an obvious wrong business move.

The other mobile phone service providers operating in Ghana are MTN, Tigo, Vodafone, Kasapa and Zain.

Asked for his comments on the story, Mr. Kofi Bentil a Marketing Consultant and lecturer at Ashesi University said, “the story on Glo pulling out of Ghana should be totally discarded.”

He argued that it will be imprudent for Globacom to pull out of Ghana after spending millions of dollars in the country without selling a single chip.

“My information is also that they have not been able to build a good team,” Mr. Bentil told ghanabusinessnews.com.

Using the vandalizing of their structures as an excuse to pull out of Ghana, Mr. Bentil described as “the lamest excuse.”

Globacom started complaining soon after the company was licensed to start operations in Ghana.

The telecom provider received the license to operate in Ghana in June 2008 from the National Communications Authority (NCA) in Accra. But regulatory and permit challenges slowed it from setting up its base stations to begin operations. Ghana’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) eventually granted it license to that effect, paving the way for Glo to begin building its cell sites.

When the company was issued its license to begin operations in Ghana, Glo’s management announced the establishment of its Glo-1 Submarine cable to be laid through Europe, Accra to Nigeria. The company subsequently started laying fibre optic cables in Ghana for its broadband services.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Information has personally said publicly that the government was doing everything possible to assist Globacom to start operations in the country.

This latest development in the view of ghanabusinessnews.com could be a possible media ploy to hype the company’s probable roll out.

Globacom already has set up offices around the country and some of these are fully furnished. It would not be in the interest of Glo to pull out of Ghana at this stage, so it is our theory that the claim is a media hype!

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Indian company to set up $1b fertilizer factory in Ghana

An Indian company plans to establish a $1 billion fertilizer plant in Ghana, the Bloomberg news service has reported citing an unnamed Indian government official with knowledge of the matter.

It said the company, Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd which also India’s biggest state-run urea maker, indicated that the plant when established will have the capacity to produce one million metric tons of the soil nutrient.

The report said shortage of natural gas in India, the main feedstock for making urea, is forcing companies including Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Ltd., the nation’s largest producer, to build plants overseas. India’s cabinet on May 19 more than doubled the price of gas sold to makers of fertilizer, which is used to grow crops including wheat, sugar, rice and edible oils.

The fertilizer maker, based in Mumbai, plans to secure fuel for the project from Ghana Oil Co., and India’s fertilizer ministry has approved the investment proposal, the official said.

In March Ghana’s Vice President John Mahama was in India where told the Indian media that The Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative (Iffco)  is setting up a fertilizer producing plant in Ghana to serve the market in the country and for export to India. The multi-state non-profit organization, he said, will produce enough to meet Ghana’s fertilizer requirements and export the surplus.

Ghana is due to start commercial production of oil and gas in the latter part of December 2010, after the discovery of oil in commercial quantity was announced in 2007.

When production starts during the first phase of the Jubilee Field Project, a total of 120,000 barrels of oil a day and 120,000 mmscfd of gas a day are expected to be produced.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana loses over $230m every year to road accidents

Every year Ghana loses over $230 million to road accidents, apart from the fact that many Ghanaians lose their lives, and that also amounts to 1.7% of the country’s GDP .

According to the National Road Safety Commission, there are 19 fatalities per 10,000 vehicles in Ghana, and it is working to reduce the rate to single digit by the year 2015, the Executive Director, Noble Appiah was quoted by the GNA as saying.

An earlier statistics said more than 1,600 people are killed annually through road traffic accidents.

According to Mr Kwaku Oware-Boateng, Ashanti Regional Manager of the Road Safety Committee, 43% of the fatalities involved pedestrians with about 23% representing children below the age of 16 years.

Mr Oware-Boateng, attributed 60% of car crashes in the country to speeding, saying the Ashanti Region was among the top five that accounted for more than 70% of the fatalities in the country.

In the Upper East Region for instance majority of the road accidents in the area were motorbike accidents.

The Regional Manager of the Road Safety Commission, Mr. Alex Ayarta said 2008 recorded 59 deaths in the region and this was reduced to 34 in 2009 and 13 in the first three months of 2010, the GNA reports.

In February 2009, the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) reported that road accidents, apart from claiming human lives and leaving others injured, cost the nation $165 mil­lion, representing 1.6 per cent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), every year.

It added that the cost ranged from medical cost, property damaged, human cost, administrative cost and lost output.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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AGRA to link Ghanaian farmers to commercial buyers

The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) launches a programme to save Ghanaian farmers from harvest loses and lack of market for their produce.

The programme aimed at increasing the earning potential of farmers is in collaboration with the International Centre for Soil Fertility (IFDC).

Ghanaian farmers particularly smallholder farmers go through the cyclical ritual of poor access to market resulting in low earnings from many years and months of hard work. Indeed, some tomato farmers in the northern part of Ghana have committed suicide because they have been unable to sell their produce after bumper harvests.

Most of these farmers take loans from the bank to invest in their farms, and fearing the possible outcome of their inability to repay these loans, some of these farmers chose to take their own lives.

In a press release issued by AGRA and copied to ghanabusinessnews.com, the three-year project will focus on easing the flow of produce from farms in Ghana’s Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions to commercial buyers and processors of maize, rice, sorghum and soybean in Ghana.

It will also create more sustainable markets where farmers can sell their produce for a profit.

The lead implementer of the project, the IFDC will build alliances with local partners to provide farmers with skills to improve their farm productivity and business and marketing services to ensure sustainable supplies of high-quality produce for industrial buyers, it said.

Agriculture is the mainstay of Ghana’s economy, and smallholder farmers represent 80 percent of farm production in the country, according to the release.

According to Kofi Debrah of the IFDC, “the project will directly benefit smallholder farmers, buyers and consumers.” He added that, “by linking with buyers before production, farmers can be assured of regular farm incomes. Traders, processors and large retailers will also benefit because they will be able to obtain reliable and regular supplies of quality produce.”

During the project, AGRA and IFDC will partner with several local organizations to strengthen capacity of farmer organizations. The aggregating organizations will serve as an intermediary between farmer groups and buyers at the top of the supply chain. These include the Savanna Farmers’ Marketing Company, Ltd (SFMC), a farmer-owned marketing company with a network of 8000 farmers, OFRAM Enterprises and nearly 50 community women’s rice processing groups in the region, the release said.

This project will go along way to solve the problem of access to markets which most smallholder farmers face and the outcome will certainly improve agriculture in the north of the country and also enhance the lives of local farmers.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana to float bonds to service deficit

Ghana is considering two options including floating bonds on the international capital market to service the country’s deficit.

Speaking on a Joy News bulletin monitored by ghanabusinessnews.com, Vice President John Dramani Mahama said, “we are looking at either floating bonds with respect to the rest of the deficit that we have – the arrears and commitments or borrowing from the international private market.”

He indicated that Ghana’s credit ratings has gone up and therefore, the country can borrow from the international capital market.

He however cited the willingness or otherwise of the World Bank and the IMF to allow the country to go ahead with such a plan.

Recently the Vice President expressed worry about the country’s deficit saying it poses a great danger to the country’s economy.

He warned that if efforts are not made to deal with the country’s deficit, the country would be sliding down the dangerous path of economic failure of other countries like Greece.

He said the country has a deficit of over $1.45 billion in the petroleum sector alone.
“The Ministry of Finance has paid $550m out of this,” he said.

According to Mahama, in the non-petroleum sector, the country owes between $700 million and $1 billion.

He said the government was trying to refinance these debts, by making efforts to raise money from a consortium of banks.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Mobile phone alert: Cheap China made cell phones flood Ghana

The replacement of import tariffs on mobile phones with ‘Talk Tax’ in 2007 is the result of the flood of fake Chinese mobile handsets onto the Ghanaian market.

Minister of Communications, Haruna Iddrisu recently announced that the “Talk Tax’ did not generate as much revenue this year as it did the previous year.

Meanwhile, due to the tariff removal on mobile phone imports, for which the country is losing money, the Ghanaian market is being flooded with sophisticated-looking but fake and ridiculously affordable Chinese mobile handsets.

On the face value it looks good because the tariff wave has boosted the import of handsets, leading to a ‘glut’ and huge price cuts on ‘smart-phones’.

But findings by Ghanaian scientists about the sophisticated-looking but cheap phones on the market show that all is not well with patrons and users of such phones.

Ghanaian scientist, Joseph Amoako of the Radiation Protection Institute of the Ghana Atomic Energy (GAEC), recently announced that a study he personally led into the levels of radio frequency (RF) emissions from mobile phone handsets in the country indicated that several of the sophisticated-looking fake and cheap phones on the market emit levels of RF radiations far higher than what is globally accepted as safe.

There are two widely accepted RF emission measurements for mobile phone handsets, based on the guidelines set by three major scientific expert bodies – the International Commission of Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), which is an international body, the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, both in the United States of America.

Between the three bodies, the approved safe levels of RF emissions for mobile phone handsets range between 1.6w/kg and 2.0w/kg.

Both the ICNIRP and the NCRP/IEEE exposure criteria were developed by expert scientists and engineers after extensive reviews of the scientific literature related to RF biological effects. The exposure guidelines are based on thresholds for known adverse effects, and they incorporated prudent margins of safety. (Federal Communication Commission, 2010)

But Joseph Amoako says he and his team discovered that most of the fake handsets in Ghana emit RF radiations more than 2.0w/kg, which is beyond the thresholds of adverse effect and could therefore pose some danger to users.

Mobile phones emit non-ionising radiations, which, according to scientist from RPI and WHO, do not have the power to break DNA and therefore can not cause cancer or any serious health problem. But high levels of such emissions over a long period of time, when the phone is in use, generate heat, which could burn the user and also cause fire when the phone is on charge. In fact there have been reports of such flashy-looking cheap phones burning sim cards in Ghana.

The bottom line is that even though no real health danger has been linked with emissions from mobile phones, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) have adopted the ICNIRP guidelines and have therefore called for precaution in the extent of human exposure to RF radiation. It is imperative, therefore, that those standards are followed to forestall any eventualities.

Chinese phones

In case Joseph Amoako’s findings is not anything to go by, reports sourced from tonnes of websites including http://www.techtree.com, www.strategypage.com, www.dhgate.com, www.infodriveindia.com, www.unwiredview.com and www.goarticles.com, indicate that last year, 2009, the Chinese government placed a ban on the shipment of fake and cheap phones from China for two reasons; firstly, they were found not to have international mobile equipment identification (IMEI) numbers, otherwise known as Serial Numbers; and secondly there was no evidence that any tests had been conducted on those phones to check whether the levels of RF emissions were within the stipulated international standards.

According to the reports, initially the Chinese government sought to deny the anomalies and allowed importation of fake unbranded phones to continue, until India, for instance, banned all Chinese phones citing security reasons. The Chinese government then ordered a halt in shipment, but reports say even while the ban was in force, sales figures showed that the exports of fake phones continued unabated because no stringent measures were put in place to stop the shipments.

Some of the stories about the ban of fake Chinese phones came under the following headlines:  ‘Info Warfare: India bans Chinese cell phones’; ‘Chinese phones banned in India for security reasons’; ‘Chinese Mobile: The Flip-flop Continues’; ‘Own a Chinese Phone? Check your IMEI Now’; ‘Chinese Phones without IMEI get Barred’; and ‘Phones with No or Fake IMEI to Die.’

When the stories begun to go public, the perpetrators started to issue fake IMEI numbers to some fake phones in China. As a result, several phones got the same serial numbers; others even got two serial numbers, so that in case of theft or loss, people could still not trace their phones through their serial numbers because the numbers themselves were fake.

But the issue of the RF radiation levels was not dealt with and yet the shipment of such phones continues, with Ghana as one of the major destinations in recent times.

Because the levels of RF emissions cannot be guaranteed, patrons of such phones risk facing some unusual biological and possibly health effects when they use such phones. So there is still cause for concern.

Some of those fake phones can take two sim cards at a time, they come with an extra battery and some of them have very attractive functions, like touch screen and others, which are not on the genuine versions.

There is, however, ample evidence that those types of phones freeze very often, have relatively very short life spans of less than a year, and the batteries go dead in just months.

Regulation standards

It is the duty of the Ghana Standards Boards (GSB) to provide a body of standards to regulatory bodies to regulate activities of players in their respective industries. In the case of mobile handsets, Mr. Kofi Amponsah Bediako, Public Relations Director of the GSB told this writer that GSB has adopted the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) guidelines for the regulation of commercial importation of mobile handsets into the country. The IEC guidelines have standards for the electrical compatibility and the general performance of mobile handsets.

Under the general performance section, the IEC has standards for safety, which includes the level of radio frequency radiation, not different from the ICNIRP/ITU/WHO standards.

But it is not the duty of the GSB to implement the standards; it is the duty of the industry regulator, in this case the National Communications Authority (NCA), to ensure that phones imported into the country met the standards adopted for them by the GSB.

The NCA has to have a mechanism in place to ensure that before any handsets get into this country and unto the market their RF emissions are at least within the IEC/ICNIRP/ITU/WHO guidelines. But here is a situation where the Ghanaian market is practically flooded with fake, sub-standard, unbranded and potentially dangerous Chinese phones and the NCA is waiting for the GSB to implement the standards, which are there for the NCA to implement.

In Australia, for instance fake phones cannot get unto the market, much more into the hands of citizens. This is because phones need to pass the test of genuineness based on clear laid down standards, to be tagged with the logo of the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), the telecom industry regulator. Citizens do not buy phones without the ACMA logo because they have been trained to know that if a phone is not ACMA compliant it could go on fire when on charge, so if you purchase such a phone you risk burning your home.

The NCA has not even started implementing standards to check the influx of fake and potentially dangerous handsets unto the market, much less educating the public about what kinds of handsets to avoid.

Checking radiation levels

There are ways to check IMEI/Serial numbers and there are ways to use the IMEI number to know the RF emission level for each phone. Just by dialling *#06# on your handset, you can know your serial number; then, in some jurisdictions, you can check its authenticity by sending an sms of the 15-digit serial number to 53232.

It is a little bit more complex for an individual to check the RF emission level of his or her handset. This is also done differently in different jurisdictions. For instance in the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) calls the IMEI number the FCC ID Number and it can be used to check the RF emission level of the handset by keying in the number into a search engine on the website of FCC. A similar thing can be available for handsets in the IMEI regime, which a body like the NCA must know and use to check RF levels of handsets, which come into the country.

Some of the fake phones come in the same brand names as genuine ones, except that the fake ones are cheap in terms of price, and because of the generally low income levels in Ghana, most people tend to patronise them. Those who market them probably know nothing about RF emission levels; they are only concerned with profit.

On Nokia, for instance, there are fake versions of almost all of the Nokia smart phones; E71, N95 and the rest. In some cases, apart from the marked functional differences, a careful look will also reveal a difference in spelling of the brand name. Some of the fake ones bear the inscription NCKIA and NOKLA instead of NOKIA. Samsung is also spelt SAMSONG on fake phones. But patrons do not look out for these things; they only care about getting some smart phone at a ridiculously low price.

Apart from the ones that come in the same or corrupted versions of genuine brand names, there is also an array of unbranded Chinese phones on the Ghanaian market, which promise buyers sophisticated features at very ludicrous prices.

But the crux of the matter is not necessarily about knowing whether one is buying a fake phone or not, but about knowing that fake phones emit higher levels of RF radiation, which scientists say can have biological effects on the body, and can also burn when on charge. The caution is simply to beware of fake phones because as the old saying goes, ‘cheap things are not good, and good things are not cheap’ (quoted inversely).

By  Samuel Dowuona

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Ghana’s inflation rate expected to hit single digit before September

Ghana’s falling inflation rate is expected to hit single digit before September 2010.

The Vice President, John Mahama recently said the country’s economy will hit single digit inflation by September 2010.

Mr. Mahama was reported by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) as saying that the drop in inflation and the stability of the national currency, the cedi are due to the “prudent economic management of the government that included 30% cut-backs on government expenditure.”

But the governor of the Bank of Ghana, Kwesi Amissah-Arthur told ghanabusinessnews.com that “from the rates that we are seeing now the single digit will be achieved before September.”

The rate of inflation was a high of 20.9% in March 2009 and it continued to fall till it hit 13.2% in March 2010.

In April 2010 inflation fell to 11.66% a reduction of 1.6% as against the  Bank of Ghana’s projected fall of 1.1%.

“But for me it is not just about achieving single digit, but sustaining it. We will do what we can do sustain it,” Amissah-Arthur said.

On rate cuts, he said, the Bank is interested in seeing to it that there is growth in the economy and if rate cuts will lead to that then the central bank will do so.

But Dr. Seth Abbey, the head of the Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA) had warned that governement should get on a broad economic front, adding ” you can’t be chasing inflation at the expense of everything else. Inflation is not an end in itself,” he said.

Dr. Abbey said on a Joy News bulletin monitored by ghanabusinessnews.com, that there are other factors such as the size of the harvest, injection of wages and cocoa farmers’ income and how much additional income will come into the system.  He said costs are coming down and interest rates should be brought down.

Referring to the Bank of Ghana Monetary Policy Committee report of April which said the economy is slowing down, he said, “we need to get the economy growing faster than it is. There is a cost we are paying. We are slowing job creation down, and we are realising that the cost of inflation is coming down. But there is a cost we are paying.”

“You can’t run an economy that way. That is counterproductive,” he said.

“We are slowing the economy down, we can get to single digit, but it will be very difficult to sustain it,” he said, adding “you will reach there and you will regret.”

He also indicated that it is important to be mindful of the fact that “containing the country’s budget deficit is a big factor in all of these.”

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Russian miner says Ghana better than Australia

A Russian investor in the mining sector in Australia says Ghana has become a far more attractive country to invest in than Australia.

Oleg Sheiko told The Australian that he always felt welcome as a foreign investor in Australia, but his faith in that country is being tested by the country’s massive new tax on the resources sector.

The CEO of Metals Solutions says the Australian  government’s plan to slug the resources sector with a new 40 per cent super profits tax means the foreign company will reassess where it directs capital.

Sheiko therefore, says Metals Solutions will now “do its homework” on the new tax but that Ghana is looking favourable.
Australia is one of the leading mining country’s of the world and hosts some of the world’s leading companies, and some of these companies are also operating in Ghana, among them Newmont Gold.

According to the mining executive, despite the manganese deposit in Ghana being of a lower grade than in Australia, the uncertainty around the resource tax plans could make Ghana a more attractive country to invest in.

“In mining you take a long view on tax regimes . . . so you double think whether you should deliver your capital in Australia, Ghana or somewhere else.” He said.

Sheiko says, “I’m sure all multinational companies will be doing the same. Australia is a great mining country but not the only one in the world.”

In Ghana, the company pays a 25 per cent company tax rate (temporarily increased to 30 per cent) and a royalty rate of 5 per cent — the same as in Australia. What surprises Sheiko about the Australian government’s proposal is the low profit threshold, which is set at about 6 per cent, before the 40 per cent “super profits” tax kicks in, the report said.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana’s renewable energy bill to be passed before end of year

Dr. Joe Oteng Adjei, Minister of Energy, has announced that a renewable energy draft bill setting out a feed-in-tariff to ensure guaranteed price for electricity generated from renewable energy sources was before Cabinet.

He told a meeting organised by Afrika Verein in cooperation with Hamburg Chamber of Industry and Commerce and Ghanaian-German Economic Association that the bill could be passed before the end of the year.

A statement issued and signed by Mr. Stephen Antwi, President of the association copied to Ghana News Agency in Accra said the forum dubbed “Ghana Energy Day”, was attended by German business entrepreneurs interested in investing in Ghana’s Energy Sector.

Dr. Oteng Adjei briefed the meeting about the sector, especially electricity generation, transmission and distribution and pledged government’s support to investors in the sector.

In the renewable energy sector, he urged them to invest in the solar panel plants to serve Ghana and the ECOWAS market.

In another development, a delegation of Ghanaian business executives has returned from a week’s Solar Energy Trade Mission to Germany, acclaimed the world’s leader in renewable energy production.

Most of the German companies visited expressed their desire to invest in Ghana where, compared to Germany, solar radiation is very high.

“They are, however, waiting for the promulgation of the renewable energy law that would set out policy guidelines and address operational issues”, the statement said.

Source: GNA

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Ghana expects FDI to reach $161.34m in first quarter 2010

An estimated $161.34 million of Foreign Direct Investments is expected into Ghana during the first quarter of 2010.

The expectation is higher than the 2009 value of $16.53 million, the Chief Executive of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), George Aboagye has said.

According to UNCTAD, FDI flows into Ghana have tripled from 2005 to $435 million in 2006.

In the second quarter of 2009 the country attracted new investments to the tune of $111.67 million, a significant increase of 91.9% compared to $58.19 million recorded for the same period in 2008.

The country’s democratic credentials and the expected commercial production of oil in December is opening the country up as an investment destination of choice in Africa south of the Sahara.

The inflation rate for April has gone down to 11.66 % from 13.3% in March 2010, raising hopes of the country reaching single digit inflation by the end of the year.

The Bank of Ghana has also predicted that with the injection of revenue from the oil industry, the economy will push the country’s GDP growth above 20% in 2011.

The fall in inflation and the expected drop in interest rates is expected to encourage lending and boost businesses leading to expansion in the economy – all these are pointing to a positive outlook for the country’s economy.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana’s inflation drops to 11.66% in April

Ghana’s inflation rate has continued to fall, dropping further to 11.66% in April from 13.3% in March 2010.

This is the tenth consecutive time that the country’s inflation has fallen and it is the lowest in 24 consecutive months.

It has been predicted that Ghana’s inflation will hit single digit by the end of the year.

“It confirms the general trend and strengthens the case for at least a 100 basis points further cut in the prime rate at the next MPC meeting,” Kobla Nyaletey, head of liquidity management at Barclays Ghana Treasury had told the Reuters.

“This should ultimately result in lower lending rates, providing the needed stimulus to borrowers,” he added.

The Vice President, John Mahama recently said the country’s economy will hit a single digit inflation by September 2010.

Mr. Mahama was reported by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) as saying that the drop in inflation and the stability of the national currency, the cedi are due to the “prudent economic management of the government that included 30% cut-backs on government expenditure.”

The Bank of Ghana has predicted a GDP growth of above 20% by 2011 following commercial production of oil in the country by December 2010.

Ghana’s GDP growth was projected to be within the levels of 5% to 5.7% in 2010.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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GIPC records over GH¢263m investments for first quarter 2010

The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), on Tuesday said that it has recorded a significant gain during the first quarter of 2010 financial year with an estimated value of GH¢ 263.42 million.

The GIPC during the first quarter of this year, registered a total of 108 new projects with an increase of 208.57 percent compared to 35 registered projects in the first quarter of 2009, Mr. George Aboagye, Chief Executive of the GIPC said.

Addressing a press conference in Accra, Mr Aboagye said the figures for the first quarter represented a significant jump as compared to last year.

He said the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) component of the estimated value of the projects registered during the first quarter under review was GH¢225.88 million while the local currency component amounted to GH¢37.34 million.

Mr. Aboagye said the GIPC was optimistic the growth of the FDI for this year would push the earnings up to US$161.34 million compared to US16.53 million, earned during the first quarter of last year.

He said that to end the agitations between locals and foreigners within the country’s trade sector, the GIPC earlier had inaugurated a National Task Force to monitor the activities of foreigners to ensure that Ghana’s investment regulations were respected and complied with.

Mr. Aboagye said the National Task Force had been working effectively resulting in the foreigners regularizing their operations, a situation which had stemmed the agitations of the Ghanaian traders.

He said to ensure effective monitoring of the activities of the foreign investors and traders, the Central and Western Regional Task Force would be inaugurated in Cape Coast and Takoradi on May 13 and 14, 2010 respectively.

The Task Force would comprise representatives from the Customs, Excise and Prevention (CEPS), Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), VAT Service, Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) and the Registrar General’s Department and GIPC.

He said the Center launched the “Ghana Club 100 Awards” in February this year which would now be combined with the “Invest in Ghana” seminar.

It is an annual event to honour the top 100 companies in the corporate excellence under the theme “Enhancing partnership between domestic and foreign investment for economic growth.”

The awards will be given to ten sectors of the economy, including Agriculture and Agribusiness, Financial Services, Petroleum and Mining Services, Tourism Health among others.

The Invest in Ghana Seminar is organised in collaboration with the Swiss Agency for investment (OSEC).

Mr. Aboagye said there were discussions with Cargill S.A., a multinational producer and marketer of agricultural, financial and industrial products in Switzerland on the establishment of a 450,000 metric tone sugar processing plant in Ghana.

“The productive capacity of the refinery is expected to increase to 650,000 metric tones per annum with an estimated value of the project is US$ 100million.”

Source: GNA

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Ghana risks losing budgetary support from development partners if…

Ghana has been depending on the budgetary support of its development partners to support the country’s budget.

The financial support which is given through the Multi-Donor Budgetary Support (MDBS) began in 2002, it constitutes about 30% of development aid to the government and has since contributed over $2 billion to the country’s budget.

But the country is likely to lose that support if a medium term development plan is not put in place to continue where the Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRSII) ended.

From 2003 to 2005, Ghana implemented the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS I) to be able to use HIPC funds for development and poverty reduction programmes. The relative macroeconomic stability and poverty reduction initiatives achieved under the GPRS I, led to the GPRS II which had the objective to continue with the growth trajectory, support wealth creation and sustainable poverty reduction. GPRS II lasted from 2006 to 2009.

The government is yet to roll out a successor the GPRS II. This is a critical issue for Ghana’s Development Partners, who align their development assistance to the priorities set out in this plan.

In his opening remarks at the Multi-Donor Budget Support Annual Review, the Swiss Ambassador to Ghana Mr. Nicolas Lang, whose country co-chairs the group of eleven donors providing support to the government said that the non-availability of such a plan is making it “increasingly difficult, if not impossible” for development partners to continue with their support to Ghana’s development.

The institution charged with coordinating this strategy has just had a chairperson appointed since December 2009. Veteran politician Mr. P. V. Obeng is now the Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC). The Commission however is yet to have its commissioners named and until that is done, it seems the plan is yet to see the day light.

But should development partners be the only ones to worry about the lack of a successor to the GPRS II? Ghana has had a long tradition of development planning dating to the post independence industrialization drive by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the country’s first president. Even though such plans have not yielded the intended outcomes, they have always provided a sense of direction for the country’s development planners.

The main objective of the GPRS II for instance was to project Ghana into a middle income status. Though its time span has elapsed, there is yet to be an evaluation of its intended objectives. The NDPC produces reports that measure progress in the implementation of the GPRS I and II called the Annual Progress Reports. It has been a cumbersome process to generate these reports due in large part to the non-availability of data. If Ghana’s future development plans are to achieve desired results, its statistical systems needs to be strengthened. Currently a lot of focus is on generating various economic statistics such as inflation and producer price indices. Little attention is being paid to social indicators such as disparities in income levels, gender, access to public goods and so on.

In the meantime, however, available data indicate mixed results on implementation of progress under GPRS II. While there seems to be improvements in reducing poverty, Ghana’s ranking in the Doing Business Report 2010 has dropped from 87 to 92. Though a decline, Ghana ranked first on ease of doing business in West Africa. This is indicative of the investment climate and private sector competitiveness. There are also worrying signs of non-attainment of some goals of the MDGs.

The National Development Planning Commission has put out the policy matrix of the Medium Term Development Plan (MTDP) – The GPRS II successor. The matrix captures the objectives of the various sectors. The MTDP will need consultations with recognized bodies, associations and also parliamentary adoption for the plan to come into force; all these steps are yet to take place.

Coming out with an MTDP is a complex task, but the process is guided by Ghana’s commitments to international agreements on development including the Millennium Development Goals.

Also likely to be factored into the plan are the ruling government’s manifesto promises.

A plan for Ghana is needed urgently – it must be one that will systematically modify the structure of the economy and enjoy national consensus.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi & Dode Seidu

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Africa loses $12 billion every year to malaria

The African continent is grappling with so many challenges, which to a large extent are hindering the continent’s economic advancement; among them is the fight against the disease – malaria.

Malaria is transmitted to humans when an infected Anopheles mosquito bites a person and injects the malaria parasites (sporozoites) into the blood. Sporozoites travel through the bloodstream to the liver, mature, and eventually infect the human red blood cells.

African economies spend as much as $12 billion every year fighting malaria and that is 1.3% of GDP annually in lost productivity.

A former Minister of Health, Dr. Sipa Yankey had said sometime in August 2009 that Ghana spends $760 million annually to treat malaria. When he stated the figure, he expressed regret that despite this huge expenditure, people still died from the disease.

In the 2009 budget an amount of GH¢921 million was allocated to the health sector, out of which nearly 90% is spent on malaria in Ghana.

Available statistics show that some 90% of malaria deaths in the world occur in Africa.

Malaria is said to be endemic and a major public health problem in areas of Asia, Africa, and Central and South America

Malaria occurs in about 100 countries; approximately 40% of the world population is at risk of contracting malaria.

And according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Ghana had an estimated 7.2 million cases of malaria in 2006, out of which 3.9 million occurred among children less than five years.

Malaria has become the leading cause of morbidity and death in Ghana accounting for more than 19% of all mortality cases with 22% of under five mortality, according to the 2007 World Health Report.

An estimated 3.5 million Ghanaians would visit health facilities due to malaria infections each year and about 20,000 children would have died from the disease.

A Ghana Health Service report published in 2006 says malaria has been estimated to constitute 10% of the overall disease burden in sub-Saharan Africa, being the leading cause of mortality in children aged under five years and accounting for about 40% of public health expenditure. It is also estimated to account for 20-50% of inpatient admissions, and up to 50% of outpatient visits in areas with high malaria transmission.

Analyzing malaria mortality in Ghana, the report indicated that there are three principal ways in which malaria can contribute to death in young children. First, an overwhelming acute infection, which frequently presents as seizures or coma (cerebral malaria), may kill a child directly and quickly.

Second, repeated malaria infections contribute to the development of severe anaemia, which substantially increases the risk of death. Third, low birth weight which is frequently the consequence of malaria infection in pregnant women constitutes the major risk factor for death in the first month of life. In addition, repeated malaria infections make young children more susceptible to other common childhood illnesses, such as diarrhea and respiratory infections, and thus contribute indirectly to mortality. It is estimated that the total (direct and indirect) malaria mortality is at least twice as high as the direct malaria mortality.

As a result, children under 5 are the most vulnerable group for malaria mortality. The distribution of deaths due to malaria by age and sex shows a high peak among children under 5 years, who accounted for almost half (48.2%) of the total malaria deaths.

An advocacy group, Voices for a Malaria-free Future (VfMfF) has called for efforts in dealing with malaria to be focused through simple tasks such as getting pregnant women and children under five treated mosquito nets and to ensure that they slept under these nets.

The group also called on the country to improve malaria treatment through the use of approved medicines such as artesunate amodiaquine or artemether-lumefantrine and dihydroatemisinine piperaquine.

Asking for an improvement of the referral system for complicated malaria treatment and ensuring laboratory diagnosis of the disease.

It is important for concerted efforts involving most ordinary Ghanaians, who are most vulnerable to the disease to be initiated to deal with malaria, so the burden on the economy can be reduced.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi
Email: edogbevi@hotmail.com

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EU announces €6.5b support for small businesses in Africa

The European Union (EU) has announced a €6.5 billion support for African countries that are ready to build capacity for their small and medium scale enterprises.

The support was announced in Accra by Claude Maerten, Head of the EU Delegation to Ghana at a forum to discuss “Regional Integration in West Africa.”

Speaking at the event he said the EU considered regional integration as a vehicle to help developing economies integrate into the world economy and was therefore, fully supportive of that.

He said the financial support was to build the capacity of small and medium scale enterprises in African countries to enable them become competitive on the international market.

By  Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Dutch company wins contract for $110m water projects in Ghana

A company based in the Netherlands has won a multi-million dollar contract to build water projects in Ghana.

The €83 million ($110 million) projects are aimed at improving the production and delivery of clean drinking water and a down payment of approximately €13.3 million (USD 18 million) has been made.

The company, Kardan won the contract through its subsidiary Tahal to execute the project for the Ghana Water Company according to information accessed by ghanabusinessnews.com.

According to the terms of the agreement, Tahal will plan, build, upgrade and expand drinking water systems in Kumawu and Konongo in the Ashanti region, and the Kwahu Ridge in the Eastern region. The project is expected to take approximately three years from commencement until completion. Commencement is subject to the finalization of certain administrative procedures.

The information also indicated that this is Tahal’s third project in Ghana. In the other projects, Tahal is rehabilitating and expanding water supply systems at the cost of €55 million. Work on the projects, it said began in the third quarter of 2009 and are due to be completed by mid-2012.

Ghana has a perennial water problem stretching across the entire country. Most parts of the country suffer annual and monthly water shortage problems.

Recently, the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) said it needed $1.6 billion capital investment to revamp the country’s water production systems to meet government’s 85 per cent coverage target by 2015.

The United Nations Millennium Development Goal (MDG) set a target of 75 per cent coverage of potable water supply by 2015, but Ghana raised the bar to 85 per cent.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana makes new guidelines for erection of telecoms masts

Ghana has initiated new guidelines for the erection of masts by telecommunications companies in the country.

Even though the full details of the guidelines are not yet available, the guidelines include regulations for collocation and prohibition from erecting masts closer to schools.

The Minister of Communications, Haruna Iddrissu has told a Joy News bulletin monitored by ghanabusinessnews.com that a major requirement of the new guidelines is the improvement in quality of services.

He also said, the guidelines prohibit telecoms companies from erecting masts near schools. He said even though, there are no scientific proof to the possible health hazards posed by the emission of electromagnetic radiation from the masts, the decision is a precaution to protect Ghanaian children from any possible health dangers in the future.

In February this year, the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology (MEST) placed a ban on the mounting of telecommunications masts in the country until further notice. The issue was later resolved between the ministry and the telephony providers.

The telecoms companies, especially the mobile telephony companies have come under criticisms for mounting masts near to residential facilities and exposing residents to possible health dangers, they have also been accused of offering poor quality services and exploiting subscribers through raffles and customer reward promotions that take from rather than give subscribers any rewards at all.

Ghana currently has six mobile phone companies licensed to operate in the country, five are in operation – these are MTN, Tigo, Vodafone, Kasapa and Zain. The sixth, Globacom is yet to start operations.

And the country’s mobile telephony penetration is said to be over 60% of the country’s population of about 22 million.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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President Yar’Adua is dead

Information reaching ghanabusinessnews.com from the Nigerian capital Abuja says President Musa Yar’Adua is dead.

President Yar’Adua has been ill for sometime and has not been seen in public for a long time.

The source said he died Wednesday at 9:00pm at the presidential residence Aso Rock. He was 58 years old.

The Vice President Goodluck Jonathan took over power on February 9, 2010  when Yar’Adua was undergoing treatment in Saudi Arabia where he had been since November 24, 2009.

Yar’Adua’s absence from Nigeria led to agitations and street protests, led by prominent Nigerians like Wole Soyinka.

President Yar’Adua took over from Olusegun Obasanjo and was seen as a convenient replacement for the former military man turned civilian ruler.

Yar’Adua served as governor of Katsina State. He was the first Nigerian president with a university degree. He was twice married and had nine children.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana woos Qatari investors with $700m projects

The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) is making proposals to Qatari investors in the food production, real estate and energy sectors to the tune of $700 million.

The CEO of the GIPC, George Aboagye who is currently in the Gulf region told the Qatari media that Qatar’s ambitious food security programme could tap the vast investment opportunities in Ghana.

Ghana’s economy is largely agricultural. About 70% of all Ghanaians employed are working in the agric sector. And the country has an emerging oil industry that holds lots of promise for economic growth.

He was quoted as saying that “What Qatar is doing to ensure food security is amazing, I believe that Ghana has a huge potential for this kind of investments and that both countries could benefit.”

Ghana like most developing countries is courting interested investors into the country. This move towards the Gulf region is seen as one of the country’s investment drives to tap investors in the region into the country’s nascent oil industry. Commercial production of oil is expected to begin in December 2010.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana to review ICT policy to include offshore broadband network

Ghana’s ambitious ICT for Development policy will be reviewed to accommodate a broadband policy, digital mapping, cyber security and green ICT, the deputy minister of Communications, Gideon Boye Qurcoo has said at a workshop organized by MTN Ghana and PARD Energy of Norway to discuss the potential for offshore broadband in Ghana Friday April 30, 2010 in Accra.

He said the deployment of the offshore broadband network will serve as an incentive for the country’s nascent oil and gas industry.

The innovative offshore broadband network will be deployed on the back of the country’s advanced telecom industry using fibre optic.

Mr. Quarcoo was hopeful that Ghana will be able to export the service to other countries in the sub-region.

Giving a presentation, Mr. Trygve Tamburstuen of PARD Energy argued that satellite is not a viable solution for the offshore industry making broadband the most appropriate for the sector’s communication solution.

Mr. Tamburstuen said his company’s partnership with MTN Ghana will lead to the deployment of what will become a world class broadband solution.

He also praised the country’s peaceful democracy, and developed ICT sector which makes the county ready for an offshore broadband network.

A cursory glance at Ghana’s ICT policy document shows an optimistic and encouraging picture of the future of the industry.

The government of Ghana through this document has factored ICT into national development and is doing what it can to accelerate growth in that.

And for ICT industry players, it is a motivating document that is obviously meant to oil the wheels of the industry and propel it into its rightful place in the overall scheme of development processes in the country.

It is a known fact that the entire world today is ICT driven. ICT is the tool that drives the major economies of the world. ICT is also transforming societies and economies of developing countries including Ghana, even though at a slower pace.

The reality and importance of ICT in development, both personal and national is widely accepted in Ghana and this importance to Ghana’s development is seen in the Government’s determination to make ICT the driving force behind the society and economy.

To drive home this point the government has set up a Ghana ICT Policy Plan Committee and given it the task of developing an ICT-led socio-economic Development Policy and Plan for the country.

The introduction of offshore broadband in Ghana will not only propel the country’s nascent oil and gas industry, it also has the potential to boost economic growth.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana’s economy projected to hit single digit inflation by September 2010

The Vice President John Mahama has said Ghana’s economy will hit a single digit inflation by September 2010.

Mr. Mahama was reported by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) as saying that the drop in inflation and the stability of the national currency, the cedi are due to the “prudent economic management of the government that included 30% cut-backs on government expenditure.”

He reportedly indicated that government will support all small and medium scale enterprises to flourish to pave way for an economic revolution in the coming years.

He was quoted as saying, “In spite of the government’s economic challenges, we were able to push our social responsibility agenda ahead by providing free school uniforms and exercise books, increased the capitation grant and extended the school feeding programme to many schools.”

In recent times some economic analysts, and organizations have predicted a drop in inflation and a boost to the country’s economy, citing in most cases the injection of investments and earnings from the county’s nascent oil industry.

The Bank of Ghana has predicted a GDP growth of above 20% by 2011 following commercial production of oil in the country by December 2010.

Ghana’s GDP growth was projected to be within the levels of 5% to 5.7% in 2010.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Newmont Gold ready to renegotiate contract with Ghana government

One of the major mining companies in Ghana, Newmont Gold says it is ready to renegotiate its mining contract with Ghana.

A report by the Mining Weekly quotes Richard O’Brien, the CEO of Newmont as saying that the company could agree to review its investment agreement with the government of Ghana, although it has a firm contract in place already.

The government of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) which took power 16 months ago from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government has indicated its intention to take another look at the country’s mining deals, including that of Newmont.

Newmont operates the Ahafo gold mine in the country, and has two projects – the advanced Akyem project and the earlier stage Subika underground prospect.

The report said the current investment agreement was entered into before development of Ahafo began, and also includes Akyem.

The deal provides Newmont with protection against changes in tax levels or structures and upward changes in royalties, but the new government has “indicated a desire to review our investment agreement”, O’Brien was quoted as saying. Adding, “And what we have told them is that we do have a contract, but of course we will sit down and talk with them.”

Last year the Minister of Finance, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor lamented the low royalties that mining companies that are operating in the country pay. He called for an increase. He also called on mining companies to increase the amount of foreign exchange they retained in the country.

Meanwhile, in another development, Tanzania has passed a new mining law and has increased royalties to be paid by mining companies from 3% to 4%.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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MTN Ghana mulls offshore broadband for oil sector

Commercial production of oil in Ghana’s Jubilee oil field is set to begin in December 2010, and MTN Ghana is already exploring the possibilities of providing offshore broadband network for the oil sector.

In an invitation letter to ghanabusinessnews.com for a one-day Offshore Broadband Network Workshop in Accra, MTN says “Ghana has virtually no oil offshore expertise in the data and voice services as well as petroleum added value services.”

The workshop the letter says aims to bring awareness about the technological opportunities and financial potential of broadband data and voice services to offshore oil customers and stakeholders as well as onshore data centers and sites.

MTN Ghana, is the country’s leading mobile telephone provider with about 7.5 million customers.
This development will make it a pacesetter in the offshore broadband service.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana on course to pump first oil last quarter of 2010 – Minister

A Deputy Minister of Energy, Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, on Friday announced that the country was on course to pump its first oil from the Jubilee Field come the last quarter of this year.

Production in the last quarter, he said, marked the beginning of the first phase of the Jubilee Field Project. A total of 120,000 barrels of oil a day and 120,000 mmscfd of gas a day are expected to be produced.

Mr Buah said Phase two would start in 2013 indicating that from that time 240,000 barrels of oil and 240,000mmscfd of gas would be expected to be produced on daily basis.

Mr Buah made this known in a speech read for him by Mr Joseph Ben Okai, the Director of Policy Planning at the Ministry of Energy, at the Central Regional forum on “local participation in petroleum activities” in Cape Coast recently.

The forum, which formed part of a series of “road show on petroleum and gas”, would be replicated in all regions of the country. It was organised by the Ministry of Energy in collaboration with the Central Regional Coordinating Council to solicit views from the public on the oil and gas sector.

Mr Buah said pipelines were under construction to convey gas to a proposed gas processing plant at Bonyere in the Western Region for the production of products such as ethanol, propane and fertilizer.

He said with the availability of gas as a cheap energy source, opportunities abounded for all kinds of industrial activities, adding that gas would be piped to the existing power plant at Aboadze in the Western Region to enhance electricity generation for the country.

Mr Buah said government was committed to and would ensure the active involvement of Ghanaians in the oil and gas exploration to help eradicate poverty among the populace.

He said other areas that would attract business opportunities include real estate development, telecommunications, banking, insurance, weather forecasting, search and rescue services as well as transport and catering.

He announced government’s intention to use the revenues to be accrued from the sale of the oil and gas to diversify the economy to enable every Ghanaian to benefit.

Mr Buah said the oil and gas would not overshadow other productive sectors of the economy such as agriculture, tourism and mining noting that Non Traditional Exports would be promoted alongside.

He said social amenities such as schools, hospitals and sanitation facilities would be provided with the oil and gas proceeds.

Mr Buah added that it would also enable government to support the development of the political, economic and social governance systems.

Mr Kojo Efonam, an oil and gas specialist from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said systems were being put in place to minimize the effect of possible discharges and spillages of oil and gas at the field.

He said his outfit would ensure that residents of the oil producing areas were not unnecessarily exposed to the serious security risks as have been the case in other oil producing countries.

Mr. Kwaku Boateng, acting Director in charge of Petroleum at the Ministry of Energy, advised job seekers to also explore other areas such as the hospitality industry since direct job creation from the oil and gas exploration would be limited.

He said the oil and gas revenues would not change the lives of Ghanaians overnight but that its impact would be realized over a period of time.

Participants at the forum suggested among others that roads, hospitals and other requisite facilities should be constructed in the area.

The Central Regional Minister, Mrs Ama Benyiwa-Doe, who chaired the forum called on participants to share information on the industry to people to enable people to make informed decisions.

Source: GNA

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Over $92b needed to meet water and sanitation MDGs

A report of the UN-Water Global Annual Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking Water (GLAAS), produced by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has warned that there remains a huge financial gap to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for water and sanitation.

It said an extra $18.4bn is needed globally each year between now and 2015 to meet the water and sanitation goals, which brings the total of funds needed by 2015 to over $92b.

Announcing the report through a press release Wednesday, WaterAid, an international development agency, lamented that poor targeting of aid for sanitation and water is undermining all development efforts, leaving the poorest of the poor entrenched in poverty.

According to the agency, the GLAAS report shows that just 42% of aid given to water and sanitation actually goes where it is needed – to low income countries, adding that only four of the top ten donors provide 50% or more of their development assistance to low income countries, resulting in the lion’s share of aid not reaching the poorest communities.

Enumerating some examples, the release said from 2006 to 2008 Jordan in the Middle East received an average of $500 in aid for every person without access to water, while Chad in Africa only received $3.

WaterAid stated further that during the same period Georgia received an average of $250 in aid for every person without access to sanitation, while Nepal only received $1.

It said figures in the report also show that despite diarrhoea being the second biggest killer of children under five, funding for water and sanitation – which could prevent 88% of these deaths, has declined as a share of overall aid and remains a low political priority when compared to other sectors such as health and education.

Commenting on the report, Barbara Frost, Chief Executive of WaterAid, said “Here is a global catastrophe which kills more children than HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined and which is holding back all development efforts including health and education.”

“There are 2.6 billion people worldwide who have no access to safe sanitation and, if we continue as we are, in sub-Saharan Africa the MDG target will not be met until the 23rd century,” she warned.

Barbara Frost bewailed that “political leaders are failing to address this deadly crisis,” and “Once again it is the poorest of the poor who are simply being ignored.”

WaterAid has thus called on leaders at today’s High Level Meeting to make strong and concrete commitments to tackle the global water and sanitation crisis, to ensure that no credible national sanitation and water plan fails through lack of finance and for money to go where it is needed; so that 70% of aid goes to low income countries.

It has also requested governments to join the Sanitation and Water for All initiative to accelerate progress and increase investment in sanitation and water to bring substantial health, education and economic benefits.

To bolster its demands, WaterAid said WHO estimated in 2008 that more than 2.2 million child deaths per year could be prevented with safe water, sanitation and hygiene; adding that in a separate study, the WHO found that $1 investment in water and sanitation offers a $9 return.

“The way forward is clear,” said Frost. “We have a report that says what needs to be done and we have an historic meeting that can deliver the necessary decisions. Such decisions could stop millions of children from dying, free up hospital beds and give girls in particular the opportunity to get an education. Come Friday, ministers must show global leadership and demonstrate their commitment to eradicating poverty by prioritising sanitation and water in the wider development agenda.”

The GLAAS report was released just two days before the first ever High Level Meeting on Sanitation and Water, currently taking place in Washington, where ministers and policy makers from over 30 countries will have the opportunity to commit to financial and political action which would begin to reverse years of neglect.

The meeting is part of an international ‘Sanitation and Water for All’ initiative being launched today in Washington DC prior to the World Bank spring meetings.

By Edmund Smith-Asante

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Bank of Ghana says disinflation on track

The governments’ quest to reduce inflation is well on track according to the Bank of Ghana Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).

From a high of 20.9 per cent in March 2009 to 13.2 percent in March 2010, the inflation rate is projected to reduce further to between 7.2 -11.2 per cent for 2010. The Banks of Ghana’s Monetary Policy Committee forecasts that inflation will continue to ease steadily in the second quarter of the year beyond which it will stabilize.

An appreciating cedi riding on the back of import prices and stable monetary aggregate conditions, the Bank believes should work together to reinforce the process of disinflation over the year. Furthermore the Bank expects that access to financing will remain tight, constraining aggregate demand conditions and should help weigh down inflation.

However, risks to this trend still remain, increases in crude oil prices on the global market and the possible increases in local prices of petroleum products and electricity tariffs have been are potential risks to the rate of inflation

The independent think tank, Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA) thinks that government’s low expenditure is a major reason for low rate inflation and a stable economy. Dr. Joe Abbey, the CEPA Executive Director argues that low expenditure was not helpful in promoting the job creation since it locks out private sector capital especially for indigenous small scale businesses- a major source of jobs.

The Minister of Finance, Dr. Kwabena Duffour has a different view from CEPA. He argues that government has spent in productive areas of the economy.

The IMF mission to Ghana in March also predicts further decline in the inflation rate to single digit by end 2010.  The mission found that in terms of the budget expenditure ceilings are tight, and the majority of Ghana’s accumulated domestic expenditure arrears equivalent to 7 percent of GDP need to be repaid in 2011-2012.

By Dode Seidu

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Ghanaian businesses less confident in economy – MPC

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of Ghana says businesses are less confident in the economy. Results of the central bank’s periodic survey carried out to gauge the sentiments of businesses and consumers found that ‘businesses were less confident’.

The MPC met last week to deliberate on the macroeconomic developments in Ghana and the global economy. The MPC’s press release issued at the end of their deliberations  indicated that even though businesses were less confident in the economy, consumers remained confident about its prospects.

The Bank’s latest survey reveals that overall business confidence index dropped 3.5 points.

High lending rates were found to be the reason for low business confidence. However consumers’ expectations of an improved economy, anticipated employment opportunities and the slowdown in consumer price growth were cited as reasons for consumer confidence.

By reducing the Bank’s policy rate from 16% to 15 %, the Bank of Ghana expects commercial banks to reduce lending rates, even though, the bank does not expect  significant cuts.

By Dode Seidu

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Volcanic ash forces Blue Skies to close Ghana facility

Blue Skies, the leading exporter of fresh fruits and fruit juices is closing down its operations in Ghana, and other countries as a result of the spread of volcanic ash which has grounded most flights in Europe.

The company which has specialized in ready-to-eat exotic fruits announced that the conditions have forced it to temporarily close down its offices in Ghana, Egypt, South Africa and Brazil.

The company which relies on customary just-in-time delivery format that airfreight offers is unable to export its produce.

Blue Skies suffered from the backlash of the global economic crisis losing a large chunk of its revenue as lack of money forced most of its customers to change their spending habits. Sales were low and the company which hitherto did not sell its produce directly in Ghana, began doing so.

Efforts by ghanabusinessnews.com through a phone call to get more information form Blue Skies official yield no results as the proper officials who could comment on the matter were said to be unavailable.

The Ghanaian operation was the first of Blue Skies’ network of production sites and remains the biggest, the company says on its website.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana’s exports for first quarter of 2010 increase by 20.9%

Provisional data on the external sector indicate that Ghana’s total merchandise exports for the first quarter of 2010 amounted to 1.7 billion dollars, a growth of 20.9 per cent on year-on-year basis.

Cocoa beans and products earned 704.1 million dollars, an increase of 28.5 per cent and gold earned 678.2 million dollars, an increase of 16.5 per cent.

These compared with 35.9 per cent in the export of cocoa beans and products in 2009 and a decline of 4.4 per cent in gold exports.

Addressing a press conference in Accra on Friday, Mr Kwesi B. Amissah-Arthur, Governor of Bank of Ghana, said, however, that concerns existed over the attainment of the 2009/2010 major season target of 650,000 tonnes of cocoa purchases.

By the first week of April 2010, only 518,304 tonnes had been purchased compared with 562,538 tonnes at the same time during the 2008/2009 crop season.

The crop size at the close of the 2008/2009 season was 634,256 tonnes.

Mr Amissah-Arthur said other exports during the review period improved by 17.6 per cent from 280.9 million dollars to 330.2 million dollars in the first quarter of 2010, compared with 20.4 per cent growth recorded in a similar period of 2009.

Total merchandise imports in the first quarter of 2010 amounted to 2.2 billion dollars, 5.9 per cent higher than the level recorded in the first quarter of 2009.

Oil imports for the three-month period amounted to 399.1 million dollars or 43.9 per cent above the 277.4 million dollars recorded a year ago.

Mr. Amissah-Arthur said the increase was mainly due to a price effect, as the average realised price recorded for crude oil imports was 64.1 per cent above the 47.9 dollars per barrel realised a year ago.

He said volumes of crude and oil products imported in the economy declined by 9.5 per cent to 622,417 metric tonnes from 687,497 metric tonnes a year ago.

The Governor said capital and intermediate goods together accounted for 75.1 per cent of total non-oil imports at the end of the first quarter of 2010, compared with 69.5 per cent recorded in a similar period of 2009.

The trade balance recorded a reduced deficit of 487 million dollars in the first quarter of 2010, which compares favourably with a deficit of 665.5 million dollars recorded in the corresponding period of 2009.

The Gross International Reserves position of the Bank of Ghana which had increased to 3.2 billion dollars in December 2009 grew further by 4.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2010 to 3.3 billion dollars, translating into three months cover of imports of goods and services.

This compares to gross reserves of 1.8 billion dollars in March 2009 (or 1.8 months of import cover).

Private inward transfers – received by NGOs, embassies, service providers, individuals and others – through the banks amounted to 1.6 billion dollars in the first two months of 2010, representing 27 per cent increase over the amount of 1.3 billion dollars for the corresponding period in 2009.

The Governor said of the total transfers, 239.7 million dollars (15.1 per cent) accrued to individuals, compared with 223.1 million dollars (17.8 per cent) recorded for the same period in 2009.

He said the favourable external environment continued to support the stability in the foreign exchange market. The nominal exchange rate of the cedi against the dollar, show that in the cedi depreciated on year-on-year terms by only 2.5 per cent compared with 29.2 per cent a year earlier.

For the period January – March 2010 however, the cedi appreciated against by 0.7 per cent against the dollar. This compares with a depreciation of 11.9 per cent over the same period in 2009.

Source: GNA

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Bank of Ghana policy rate down to 15%

The Bank of Ghana has cut its policy rate down to 15%. The third consecutive time the central bank has done so following the downward trend of the country’s inflation rate.

Ghana’s inflation dropped to 14.2% in February from 14.8% in January. That was a drop of 0.55%  from the January 2010 rate and the lowest in eight months and the lowest in 22 consecutive months.

The policy rate was reduced from 16% to 15%. The central bank’s policy rate is the benchmark for commercial banks to charge on loans.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Dubai-based Kampac Oil aiming at Ghana’s oil sector

A Dubai-based oil exploration and trading company Kampac Oil says it has secured extra funds for expansion into Africa. The company intends to expand its business activities especially into Ghana and South Africa.

According to the Gulf News, Kampac has secured an amount of €1.2 billion through a reverse merger listing on the Frankfurt Stock exchange on Monday under the name of Kampac International plc, generating 1 billion euros, and a 200-million-euro equity credit line facility with US-based fund company GEM Global, Charles Ampofo, CEO of the company has said.

He also told the Gulf News that the company wants to expand its exploration and oil trading activities into Ghana and South Africa. And as part of the plans, the company’s current staff strength of 800 will be increased.

Kampac has already signed an MoU with the government of Ghana to build 10,000 affordable housing units for the Ghana Police. The company also claims to have signed a 35-year project worth $1.6 billion with the Ghana Railway Corporation to build 800 kilometres of new railway lines and repair 400 kilometres of existing lines in the western part of Ghana.

Kampac’s activities comprise of exploration, refining, trading, distribution, infrastructure development, equipment supplies and services.

Ghana’s nascent oil industry has become attractive to oil companies across the globe. The country has the largest oil field to be discovered in West Africa in the last 10 to 15 years – the Jubilee oil field. According to Tullow Oil, the major stakeholders in the field, it contains 1.8 billion barrels of oil and has 17 wells. Tullow also says commercial production plans are on track and oil production will begin in December 2010.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Africa to realise $200b revenue from oil in 10 years

African countries are expected to generate about 200 billion dollars in revenue from oil production in the next 10 years as new oilfields open up throughout the Gulf of Guinea.

Oil was expected to generate the largest inflow of revenue in the continent’s history, and more than 10 times funds provided through Western donors annually in aid for developmental projects.

Mrs. Juliana Azumah-Mensah, Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs, announced these at a forum on the nation’s oil find for Junior and Senior High Students in Accra on Tuesday.

The 120 students drawn from the 10 regions included those from the State School for the Deaf and May’s Educational Centre in Greater Accra Region, Mawuko Girls and Mawuli School from Ho in the Volta Region, Saint Mary’s JHS from Brong Ahafo Region and SDA JHS from the Northern Region.

Mrs. Azumah-Mensah said government was committed to ensure that revenue that would be accrued from Ghana’s oil find was utilised judiciously.

“Oil find can deliver some benefits, however, with the high prevalence of corruption in the Ghanaian society, Ghana cannot be assured of such benefits, if certain preventive measures are not put in place to regulate the industry,” she said.

Mrs. Azumah-Mensah noted that the global call for transparency and accountability in the extractive sector encouraged Ghana to sign the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative in 2003.

She said as part of government’s measures to enforce transparency in the oil and gas industry, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning had embarked on a nation-wide public consultation on a draft proposal on how best to manage the expected revenue from oil and gas production.

Mrs. Azumah-Mensah explained that the forum was organised to provide the students an overview of Ghana’s oil find and solicit their views and expectations of the industry.

She said “The Department of Children believes that active involvement of students in the on-going deliberations is very productive hence the forum”.

Mrs Azumah-Mensah appealed to stakeholders in the oil industry to periodically update the knowledge of students on their operations in order to let them feel part of the decision-making process and management of the oil find.

Dr Joe Amoako-Tuffuor, Tax Policy Advisor of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, said a nation-wide survey conducted by the Ministry, indicated that students required government to use more of the oil revenue to construct more basic and secondary schools to provide better foundation for their education.

“They also want the oil revenue to be used to enhance operations of security agencies to improve performance and allow the Ministry and the Investment Advisory Board to be the sole managers of the oil revenue,” he said.

Dr. Amoako-Tuffuor assured the students that their opinions expressed at the forum would be submitted to Cabinet for consideration and implementation on issues pertaining to the nation’s oil and gas industry.

Mr. Rene Van Dongen, Deputy Country Director, United Nations International Children’s Education Fund, said the dialogue with students on Ghana’s oil find would be published and their recommendations implemented in future policies.

During an open forum, the students expressed concern about how government would handle problems associated with oil production; and employment avenues for the physically challenged in the oil industry.

They appealed to government to resolve any impasse on the boundary with L’ Cote D’Ivoire with regard to oil production and improve the living standards of indigenes in the oil production area.

Source: GNA

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Tullow to produce first Ghana oil in December

Tullow Oil, the major stakeholder in Ghana’s largest oil field, the Jubilee oil field, says commercial production plans are on course and the first cargo of oil will begin in December.

A Wall Street Journal report citing a senior executive of Tullow Oil, Robin Sutherland, said the set target of producing oil in commercial quantity in the fourth quarter of the year will be met.

“First oil is on schedule for the fourth quarter, so discovery to first oil in 40 months,” Robin Sutherland, the exploration manager for the Gulf of Guinea was quoted as saying at the Africa Petroleum Conference in London.

“We feel it is a common mistake that oil companies make in neglecting their exploration roots,” said Sutherland. “We have no intention in doing this, and 80% of our 2010 capital will be spent in Africa,” the report quoted him as saying.

According to Sutherland, the company is on target for the Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel to sail in May, and has already started well-completion activities.

He indicated that the first stage development cost of the Jubilee field had remained within the original $3.1 billion budget. The field’s output is expected to ramp-up to 120,000 barrels a day within six months of first oil produced.

Tullow has also developed its own transport company, including helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft in order to access the site, Sutherland said.

Oil was first discovered in Ghana in commercial quantity in 2007. The country has since become a major destination point for some of the world’s major oil producers and some African companies as well.

The country’s relative peace and demicratic credentials make the country attractive to investors in Ghana’s nascent oil industry.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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World Bank bans US company Glocoms for ‘irregularities’

The World Bank has disbarred a US management consulting company and its managing director from dealing with the Bank for four years following what the Bank describes as ‘irregularities’ committed by the company in one of the projects it funded in Vietnam.

Glocoms has worked on World Bank-funded projects in other countries including Ghana.

According to reports in the Vietnamese media, the World Bank said Glocoms committed fraud related to a project entitled “Mordenizing banks and payments systems Phase 2.”

The World Bank announced its decision after Glocoms was found to have lied about its technology and experience, and the fact that the company used fraudulent information that enabled it to win a contract partly financed by the said World Bank project.

After its investigations established the fraud, the World Bank announced the four-year ban of Glocoms. The company, according to the World Bank has been barred from preparing or implementiing World Bank-funded projects for the next four years.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Perseus Mining to raise over US$128m for Ghana project

Perseus Mining Ltd., one of the Australian mining companies operating in Ghana intends to raise about 138.6 million Australian dollars, approximately US$128 million to strengthen its balance sheet ahead of its first gold production in Ghana in 2011.

The company said in a statement that a syndicate of Toronto-based underwriters had agreed to buy and sell to the public. There will be 44 million Perseus shares at a price of 1.92 Australian dollars.

The underwriters also have the option to buy up to an additional 66.6 million Perseus shares worth $CAD91.08 million ($A97.09 million), the statement added.

The underwriters comprise Cormark Securities Inc, Clarus Securities Inc, BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc, CIBC World Markets Inc, and Dundee Securities Corporation.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Lack of safe water causes $28.4b loss to Africa yearly

The African continent is suffering a loss of about $28.4 billion every year due to the lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities, according to the African Development Bank.

And in response to this dire need, Guinness Ghana, one of the leading brewers of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages in Ghana will together with other businesses meet to take a closer look at the country’s water problems.

A press release from the company copied to ghanabusinessnews.com took note of the fact that pressure on Ghanaian businesses to manage their water use will increase as the risk of climate change and rising demands from population growth and industrialization begin to take effect.

The meeting which comes off Monday April 22, 2010 is part of  a series of events across Africa called ‘Water: A Business Imperative’, the release said. Other countries on the list are Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa and the events are being held in partnership with the International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF).

Guinness Ghana said in the release that the aim of the roundtable is to facilitate companies’ responsible engagement with water policy to reduce business risks and advance national policy goals, which impact positively on communities and ecosystems.

Commenting, Ekwunife Okoli, GM, Guinness Ghana Breweries Ltd, said “The private sector, as a user and provider of water resources, is an important actor in managing Ghana’s water. These roundtables provide businesses the first opportunity to engage directly with each other and with key stakeholders to achieve a more equitable and efficient use of the country’s water resources.”

The water and sanitation situation in Ghana is a dire one. Recently, a programme officer of the Environmental Health and Sanitation Directorate (EHSD) of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr. Kweku Quansah, was reported to have disclosed that Ghana requires about $1.5 billion within the next five years at the peak of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) target, in order to attain the MDG in Sanitation. He said this means that annually the country will need a capital investment of about $300 million to be able to attain the sanitation MDG target.

Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Adamus Resources to raise over $28m for Ghana gold project

The Australian mining company, Adamus Resources says it is raising an amount of 30.5 million Australian dollars, approximately US28.5 million to invest in its exploration activities in Ghana.

A report by the Mining Weekly said Adamus intends to raise the amount through a share placement and rights issues.

The Managing Director of Adamus Resources, Mark Bonjanjac was quoted as saying that the funds raised together with a Macquarie Bank debt facility will make the Ghana exploration project fully funded through to production.

The project with an estimated 2.1 million ounces of gold was expected to start gold production in 2011.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Does Ghana spend $760m yearly or $1.5b quarterly on malaria?

The fact that Ghana spends lots of money on the treatment and management of malaria is a known fact. But the figures being put out by government officials are not the same, even though they are staggering.

A former Minister of Health, Dr. Sipa Yankey had said sometime in August 2009 that the country spends $760 million annually to treat malaria. When he stated the figure, he expressed regret that despite this huge expenditure, people still died from the disease.

In the 2009 budget an amount of GH¢921 million was allocated to the health sector, out of which nearly 90% is spent on malaria.

A GNA report of April 9, 2010 however has quoted Ms. Sherry Ayitey, the Minister of Science and Environment as saying the country spends $1.5 billion on treating malaria every quarter.

While the figures are inconsistent or there is need for further clarification, it is still confounding for a developing country to spend so much on malaria.

There is need for urgent, focused and precise action to deal with the malaria situation in the country. If ongoing projects have not yielded desired results, it is necessary to have another look at the malaria situation redesign the approach and deal decisively with it, as the savings from malaria treatment can be used more meaningfully elsewhere.

For instance, the Voices for a Malaria-free Future (VfMfF), an advocacy group predicted that in December 2009, more than 10,000 malaria cases were expected to be reported in the country’s health facilities. 60 of these cases, the group said, were expected to result in infant mortality.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Another Nigerian company eyes Ghana’s oil sector

A Nigerian company, is looking at possibilities for investment in Ghana’s nascent oil and gas industry.

The managing director of National Engineering and Technical Company (NETCO), Kenneth Ejuoneata who revealed his company’s interest in Ghana was in Accra recently to explore opportunities in the country’s oil and gas sector, the BusinessDay has reported.

Mr. Ejuoneata told the publication that NETCO has trained many engineers who are working for both local and international companies in Nigeria and abroad.

The company which is currently into design intends to go into procurement which involves going into vessels, buying of pipes, compressors and so on.

Ejuoneata said because there are few companies who are into fabrication in Nigeria, his company is entering that area.

“After buying those materials, you have to do constructions as if you are building a house. That means you have to buy the material. This is what is applicable in the petroleum industry, but there are some companies that go the whole hog, from engineering design, procurement and to construction. We are going into procurement and construction, though not in a big way. We want to start with small jobs, small engineering jobs. As we gain experience, we go into bigger ones like Hi-tech,” he was quoted as saying.

He told the publication that his company is in talks with Ghanaian officials so initiate projects that would avoid the mistakes that were committed in Nigeria when the country first found oil.

He urged Ghanaians to do all the basic engineering works for the oil sector locally, arguing that that aspect should not be left to international companies.

Since Ghana found oil, some Nigerian companies have expressed interest in doing business in the sector. Indeed, the development of Ghana’s natural gas project worth $1 billion has been awarded to a Nigeria company, Oando.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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MTN pulls out of Google free Gmail SMS project in Ghana

The Google free Gmail SMS project for Ghana has suffered a major hitch as MTN Ghana, the largest mobile telephony provider in the country pulls out.

Sources familiar with the development have told ghanabusinessnews.com that MTN pulled out because they were losing revenue, but MTN officials gave a different reason for pulling out of the project.

Mrs. Mawuena Trebarh, Corporate Services Executive, MTN Ghana,told ghanabusinessnews.com on the phone that MTN Ghana has suspended the service due to technical problems.

A source close to Google however told ghanabusinessnews.com that Google and MTN are in some discussions, but MTN Ghana is not on the system at the moment.

The Gmail, is the free web-based email service provided by the world’s leading Internet search engine Google. Google added and activated a free SMS feature to the service for users in Ghana on Thursday March 11, 2010. Gmail users are able to send free SMS to their friends. The service according to Google offers the feature on MTN, Zain, Tigo and Kasapa mobile phones. Vodafone did not join the project from the beginning.

And Ghana was the first country in Africa to have the service activated.

Google Ghana, has told the media in Ghana on the day of the launch of the service that they acknowledged that it could lead to revenue loss to the mobile phone companies.

It is not clear from all indicators that MTN would return to the project, as revenue generation from SMS is a big part of the company’s earnings.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ezekwesili points to $60 billion investments in Africa ICT sector as revolution

The World Bank Vice President for the Africa Region, Obiageli Ezekwesili has pointed to the $60 billion investments in Africa’s ICT sector as a revolutionary example.

Ezekwesili was speaking to investors, business executives, members of the African Diaspora and students attending the 7th edition of the Columbia University African Economic Forum in New York.

She said the revolution in the ICT sector “is only a signpost of what is possible in other sectors still virgin in Africa.”

The ICT sector, she said is only one example of Africa’s many opportunities of cashing in on transformative growth.

Ezekwesili indicated that thanks to mobile telephony, even where land lines were once non-existent or a luxury for the rich few, cell phones are now aplenty.

She said cell phones have, in fact, become one of the important assets for poor farmers in Kenya and fishermen in Sierra Leone, helping them to gain access to market information, bargain hard for their products, boost their incomes and take advantage of opportunities that would otherwise have past them by.

If the global financial crisis proved one thing, it is that the riskiest markets and business ventures are not necessarily only in Africa, she said.

She told the investors that the continent also offers splendid profit-making opportunities, suggesting that investors who could but failed to get in on the ICT sector before the current boom must now be gnashing their teeth.

A ghanabusinessnews.com report of January 4, 2010 said many more people in Africa use mobile phones than in any part of the world, citing a new report by the International Telecommunications Union.
By the end of 2008, Africa had 246 million mobile subscriptions and mobile penetration has risen from just five percent in 2003 to well over 30% today.

Ezekwesili said as Africa rebounds from the global economic crisis with growth forecasted at between 4.4 and 5.2 percent in 2010, opportunities in larger economies seem to be slowing down, adding that it is a good thing. “Now we can get you home,” she told members of the African Diaspora in attendance.

She encouraged the Diaspora to think creatively about how to use some of the US$20 billion they wire home every year in remittances to help create jobs on a continent where growth has been without jobs.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghanaian farmers to benefit from $9m Bill Gates Foundation radio programme

Ghanaian farmers will benefit from a $9 million radio programme which will ensure African farmers get access to timely relevant information.

The programme, a partnership between the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) will be called Farmers Voice Radio, the East African has reported.

The 36 months programme will benefit farmers in Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Mali, Zambia and Ghana.

The programme will be carried with Canada’s World University Service in association with both commercial and community radio stations in the selected countries.

Mercy Kranja, senior programme officer for global development, was quoted as saying that the project is meant to complement the governments’ existing farmer extension services but differs in that it allows for interaction and participation of farmers.

“Extension has been driven one-way — from ministries of agriculture by governments — without factoring in the farmers feedback and involvement. This has caused farmers to feel they are not part of the process,” said Ms Karanja.

The Farmer Voice Radio will be an expansion of an earlier progamme which targeted Ghana, Mali, Tanzania, Uganda and Malawi.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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European company ABB in Ghana $13m power transmission equipment deal

ABB Ltd., has won a deal to supply power transmission equipment to Ghana. The Swiss-Swedish engineering group says the $13 million worth of equipment will improve the management and control of Ghana’s national power transmission network.

The deal with the Volta River Authority (VRA) which is financed by the World Bank is an important component of the country’s 330-kV Coastal Transmission Backbone project, according to a report on the tmcnet.com has said.

The project is aimed at improving the reliability of power supplies by encouraging efficient power trading between the coastal countries of West Africa.

According to the report the project which is expected to be completed in 19 months is being carried out in cooperation with the Ghana’s electrical transmission provider Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), will supply, deliver, install and commission its supervisory control and data acquisition/energy management system (SCADA/EMS) and communications system.

The project will deliver remote terminal units for about 50 substations, fibre optic terminal equipment and the power line carrier communication system to connect the control center and the substations, as well as ancillary equipment such as uninterrupted power supply units, video surveillance systems and other telecoms components, the report said.

Ghana has been experiencing power shortages for some time now. The country’s only hydropower plant at Akosombo is facing a perennial water shortage which is affecting power supply, occasionally plunging the entire country into darkness.

The country has constructed a thermal plant in Takoradi to supplement its power supply needs and there is an ongoing project to build another 400 MW hydropower plant at the Bui dam in the Brong Ahafo region, but a lot more needs to be done to meet the power supply requirements that would bolster economic growth.

Presenting the 2009 Budget the Minister of Finance, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor indicated that Ghana’s energy sector is in dire straights.

He said, “An immense proportion (76 per cent) of the Sovereign Bond proceeds was earmarked under the Government of Ghana (GoG) 2008 Supplementary Budget to cover capital expenditures for VRA, GRIDCO, ECG and Bui Power Authority (BPA).”

“In addition, GoG has been providing direct payments to cover VRA working capital requirements for crude oil purchases for the thermal plants.”

He said that notwithstanding, the GoG budgetary transfers had not been adequate to cover revenue shortfalls and/or re-capitalize the three power utilities.

“Clearly, the current state of affairs is unsustainable and should not be allowed to continue,” he said.

To arrest this situation, Dr Duffuor said government would develop and implement comprehensive remedial measures, especially re-capitalization, that would ensure the long term financial viability of VRA, GRIDCO and ECG.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana’s gold production up 12% in 2009

Ghana’s gold production rose up 12% in 2009.

Gold production in the country rose form 2.6 million ounces in 2008 to 2.9 million in 2009 with output from two of the country’s biggest gold producers increasing, according to the Bloomberg news citing data from the Ghana Chamber of Mines. The two major gold miners in Ghana are Gold Fields and Newmont Ghana.

Gold Field’s Tarkwa Mine production increased 0.8% to 664,515 ounces, while Newmont Gold’s Ahafo Mine  produced 513,470 ounces of gold in 2009, an increase from the 2008 level of 524, 000.

Revenue from the Ghana Bauxite Co., fell to $10.9 million from 19.8 million in 2008 following decline in productin. Bauxite production fell 29% to 490,367 metric tons, the report said citing the Chamber of Mines data.

Output at the Ghana Manganese Company fell 7% to one million tons, but revenue rose from $62.3 million to $64.9 million.  The report also indicated that revenue rose from $2.2 billion to $2.8 billion.

Diamond production dropped to 354,443 carats from 598,042 carats in 2008, cutting revenue by 63% to $7 million the report said.

Gold is Ghana’s highest foreign exchange earner, followed by cocoa, remittances from Ghanaians abroad and tourism.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Australian oil company Tap to explore near Ghana’s Jubilee field

A Perth, Australia-based oil and gas company, Tap Oil Limited says it has struck a deal to buy into an offshore exploration project in Ghana. The company announced it has received a permit from the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) to start exploring for oil in Ghana.

The company says it will operate adjacent to the basin that contains the largest oil field to be discovered in West Africa in the last 10 to 15 years, the Jubilee oil field. The field contains 1.8 billion barrels of oil and 17 wells, according to Tullow Oil, the major stakeholders in the field.

Commercial production of oil in the Jubilee field is expected to begin in the last quarter of this year.

Tap Oil which has interests in Australia and South East Asia says the deal with the GNPC in a 2000 square kilometer area is near the Jubilee field.

Tap Oil will have 36% stake in the exploration. Following the news, information reaching ghanabusinessnews.com from the global oil market says

Tap Oil’s shares went up nearly 2%.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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IMF recommends early decision on electricity tariff increases

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has made recommendations to the government of Ghana to adjust electricity tariffs.

The recommendation which was made at the end of an IMF mission to Ghana is suggesting the adjustment to keep Ghana’s budget intact.

The recommendation was made after an IMF mission visited the country from 16 to 26 March 2010. The mission was led by Mr. Peter Allum, mission chief for Ghana.

The IMF suggested that an early decision in recommended electricity tariff adjustment which has been before the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC) is needed.

Last week the government put on hold proposals for electricity tariff increases by the three players in the electricity sector until August this year. The increases proposed by the utility providers were up to about 150%.

Meanwhile the government has authorized public consultations being held by the PURC on the issue of tariff adjustment to continue.

It remains to be seen if the government will implement the increases when the time comes and how much the increases will be.

The country has been experiencing power shortages for some time now. The country’s only hydropower plant at Akosombo is facing a perennial water shortage which is affecting power supply, occasionally plunging the entire country into darkness.

The country has constructed a thermal plant in Takoradi to supplement its power supply needs and there is an ongoing project to build another 400 MW hydropower plant at the Bui dam in the Brong Ahafo region, but a lot more needs to be done to meet the power supply requirements that would bolster economic growth.

Presenting the 2009 Budget the Minister of Finance, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor indicated that Ghana’s energy sector is in dire straights.

He said, “An immense proportion (76 per cent) of the Sovereign Bond proceeds was earmarked under the Government of Ghana (GoG) 2008 Supplementary Budget to cover capital expenditures for VRA, GRIDCO, ECG and Bui Power Authority (BPA).”

“In addition, GoG has been providing direct payments to cover VRA working capital requirements for crude oil purchases for the thermal plants.”

He said that notwithstanding, the GoG budgetary transfers had not been adequate to cover revenue shortfalls and/or re-capitalize the three power utilities.

“Clearly, the current state of affairs is unsustainable and should not be allowed to continue,” he said.

To arrest this situation, Dr Duffuor said government would develop and implement comprehensive remedial measures, especially re-capitalization, that would ensure the long term financial viability of VRA, GRIDCO and ECG.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi & Dode Seidu

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Ghana’s economy to grow by 5% – IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects Ghana’s economy to expand by four to five per cent this year, boosted by investments linked to the offshore oil sector, which will come on stream in 2011.

The economic growth rate by the end of 2009 was between three to four per cent.

Mr Peter Allum, IMF Mission Chief, who made the observation said Ghana had made good progress to strengthen fiscal institutions and addressing the high public administration costs, which exceeded levels in peer countries, had been less rapid.

He said the country need to take care in implementing the new public pay structure to ensure that it did not exceed budget provisions for staffing costs.

The IMF Mission was in Ghana to conduct discussions for the first and second reviews under the fund’s Extended Credit Facility.

They met Finance Minister, Dr Kwabena Duffuor, Bank of Ghana Governor, Mr Kwesi B. Amissah-Arthur, other senior officials, members of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, representatives of the private sector and civil society organisations.

Mr Allum said fiscal management remained Ghana’s main challenge, although the budget deficit was reduced to 9.7 per cent of GDP in line with programme targets.

“For 2010, IMF supports the government’s revised deficit target of eight per cent of GDP, and welcome plans to further reduce the deficit to three to five per cent of GDP in 2011-2012, buoyed by oil-related revenues of five percentage points of GDP or more,” he said.

Under the projections, public debt is expected to rise to 62 per cent at the end of 2010 before declining to 2011-12 as the fiscal deficit is reduced.

“There is little room for manoeuvre within these budget plans. Expenditure ceilings are tight, and the majority of Ghana’s accumulated domestic expenditure arrears equivalent to seven per cent of GDP will be repaid only in 2011-2012,” he said.

Mr Allum said Ghana’s main challenges for 2011 relates to its move to oil producer status, adding that the pending oil and gas revenue management bill is expected to ensure that petroleum revenues and related spending are transparently reflected in the budget.

Source: GNA

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Ghana’s economic growth to average 10.5%

The economic growth of Ghana is expected to average between 9.5% and 10.5% over the next five years as revenue from oil production starts, the Bloomberg news has reported citing Ghana’s Databank Financial Services.

This year, growth is expected to accelerate to about 6.3% from 4.9% in 2009 as the government invests more in agriculture, it said.

Ghana has one of the largest oil fields to be discovered in West Africa in the last 10 to 15 years. The Jubilee oil field is said to  hold 1.8 billion barrels of oil and it has 17 wells, according to the major stakeholder, UK oil company Tullow Oil.

Commercial production of oil is expected in the last quarter of the year.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Government makes GH¢445m part payment of TOR debt to Ghana Commercial Bank

Government on Wednesday paid GH¢445 million to settle part of Tema Oil Refinery (TOR’s) indebtedness to Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB).

Announcing the payment, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor said the huge exposure of GCB to TOR had been a source of concern to government since it weakened the bank.

TOR is GCB’s major creditor and as at the end of December 2008, the overdraft position at GCB was approximately GH¢598 million, mainly in the form of established letters of credit, which crystallises into overdraft facilities.

According to the Minister, the debt had since grown to GH¢848 million because of the interest that had accrued on it and with the payment, the balance left was about GH¢403 million.

“This huge exposure of GCB to TOR has been a source of concern to government since it weakened the bank,” Dr Duffuor told journalists at a press conference in Accra.

The trend forced government to appoint Ecobank Development Corporation and Ecobank Ghana Limited as Transaction Advisors to ascertain the true state of TOR’s debt.

They were to raise 300 million dollars to settle part of TOR’s debt and issue bonds to raise another 300 million dollars to restructure TOR’s balance sheet, especially its working capital.

Dr. Duffuor said the amount paid would improve GCB’s liquidity position and enhance the bank’s financial health to meet the primary reserve requirements with Bank of Ghana which had been in violation for a very long time.

He said the stimulus package would also enable GCB to start establishing letters of credit to its clients including government and curtail the issuance of promissory note by government.

“Furthermore, GCB credibility will improve tremendously to enable it compete favourably within the financial system,” Dr Duffuor said.

Dr. Duffuor said that the package was a form of recapitalisation to TOR and expressed the hope that their operations and performance would be enhanced.

“What the payment means is that our books are clean and hopefully gives TOR the opportunity to raise LCs to import crude oil to keep our operations going. But in the long-term TOR needs a direct capital injection to effectively undertake its operations,” Mr. Kwame Ampofo, Acting Managing Director of TOR said.

Mr. Simon Dornoo, Managing Director of GCB said the payment would impact positively on their operations and enable it to undertake more businesses.

Source: GNA

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Ghana, others get 190m euro EU support for banana producers

Ghana will access part of a 190 million euro European Union (EU) financial support for banana-producing countries to revamp its banana industry.

Reports reaching ghanabusinessnews.com say the ten countries that are benefitting from this support are all in the Africa-Caribbean-Pacific or ACP countries and three of these are in Africa, including the Ivory Coast and Cameroon.

The EU decided to provide the funds following an agreement reached in December at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Geneva between the EU, ACP and Latin American countries and the US.

The EU banana regime covers fresh and dried bananas (excluding plantains), frozen, provisionally preserved and prepared bananas, banana juice, banana flour, meal and powder, according to Agritrade.

Ghana’s only commercial producer of banana, the Volta River Estates Limited (VREL), has had its lows and highs.

According to the World Bank’s 2001 estimates, Ghana needs to produce close to 60,000 tonnes of banana a year to make her banana industry sustainable.

Ghana, however, at that time was doing just 5,000 tonnes a year, while Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire were producing the same figure every fortnight. These figures show Ghana has a lot of catching up to do. To make an impact on the international market Ghana needs to make up for the shortfall of 55,000 tones.

Current figures are not readily available.

Despite the challenges however, Ghana rapidly expanded its exports, becoming the sixth largest ACP supplier in 2007.

This financial support, hopefully would boost the sector further to increase production and export of banana to the EU.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana’s economy proves robust in 2009 despite global crisis, but managing oil revenues a bigger challenge – Report

Ghana’s economy has proven to be robust despite external headwinds of 2009, boding well for economic expansion going forward, a report by the research firm Markets and Companies has said.

However, management of the country’s new found wealth, oil revenues, will be a big challenge to the politicians, it added.

The report noted that while GDP growth was estimated to have been 4.7% in 2009, authors of the report see it accelerating into double digits by 2011.

While it indicates the considerable uncertainty of the commercial production of oil in the country, it admits that its production will boost growth and lead to remarkable reductions in the deficits on current account and fiscal account.

“In fact, we expect both accounts to flip into surplus over the coming years,” the authors said.

The report commenting on Ghana’s political stability, concludes that, that stability is relative, comparing Ghana to its regional neighbours.

In the view of the authors of the report, “the major challenge that the Ghanaian authorities face over the coming years is the responsible management of oil revenues.”

According to the report, Ghana’s currency will appreciate only mildly in 2010.

“We have also reduced our 2010 real GDP growth forecast to 6.4% from 6.7% previously,” the authors said.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Tullow says $3.1b Jubilee Phase 1 will be new standard for oil industry

The major stakeholder in Ghana’s largest oil field, the Jubilee oil field, Tullow Oil says the project will be the new benchmark for the global oil industry when commercial production in the $3.1 billion Jubilee Phase 1 development begins late in the year.

The Offshore Magazine reports that according to Tullow, the timeframe between discovery and start-up – 40 months –  which is on course will represent a new benchmark for the deepwater industry.

All process modules and the external turret have been installed on the Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO), with module integration and commissioning work under way at the yard in Singapore. Subsea installations started as scheduled this January. The FPSO should depart for Ghana in the second quarter.

Phase 1 will involve nine producer wells delivering 120,000 b/d at peak, with pressure support from six water injector wells and two gas injectors. To date, 16 wells have been completed and installation of production tubing and completion equipment is currently in progress.

Well results to date have been in line with pre-drill expectations, Tullow says, testing at rates of over 20,000 b/d, with reservoir connectivity over distances of more than 6 km (3.7 mi).

Gas produced with the oil will initially be re-injected for pressure support, although The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) is considering a project to export the gas to shore for power generation. In the longer term, Tullow believes, around 70% of Jubilee’s associated gas could be diverted to this scheme.

Oil was discovered in commercial quantity in Ghana in June 2007. The Jubilee oil field is the largest to be discovered in West Africa in the last 10-15 years. The field contains 1.8 billion barrels of oil and has 17 wells according to Tullow.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Group gives government ultimatum to pay Kufuor’s ex-gratia

The Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFG) on Tuesday threatened to haul the National Democratic Congress’ government to court if it continued to delay paying the ex-gratia entitlements of former President Kufuor and his Vice.

In a petition presented to the leadership of parliament in Accra on Tuesday, Mr James Bomfeh (Junior), spokesperson for AFAG, said they had given government two weeks grace period to react saying government’s attitude contravened the demands of article 71 section 1 and 2 of the 1992 Constitution.

“We find this as an attack on the powers of parliament and an abuse of the separation of powers that should be accorded the various arms of government,” he said.

He said AFAG was perplexed by President John A. Mills’ set up of Ishmael Yamson Committee to vary the Chinery Hesse Committee’s work, which parliament had already endorsed.

“Not only does this act constitute a flagrant disregard of the constitution but also amounts to President J.E.A Mills’ arrogation to himself and the executive, powers the sovereign people of Ghana have not ceded them,” he noted.

He said Former President J.A Kufuor and former Vice President Aliu Mahama and some members of the previous administration had not been taken care of as prescribed by the Constitution.

Mr Bomfeh found it worrying that members of the previous parliament had received what the Chinery Hesse report approved but the legislature was quiet about the delay of what was due former President Kufuor and his Vice.

It, therefore, said to implore Parliament to exercise the constitutional right repose in them to exert its power as representatives of the people for the government to do what was right and respect the decision that the House had earlier on taken on the matter.

Mr Haruna Iddrisu, member for Tamale South in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) said Former President Kufuor’s entitlements were being catered for by the Office of the Chief of Staff and two other nominees appointed by the former President.

He said that government had issued a cheque and made available one four wheel drive car and two Mercedes Benz cars and office accommodation.

Mr Haruna, however, told the GNA that Former President Kufuor wanted his entitlements to be holistically given which government had accepted.

“Government will develop the institution of the former Presidents over time for deserving entitlement of all retiring Presidents,” he said.

He stressed that whatever the constitution demanded in respect of the entitlements of the former Presidents’ President Atta Mills’ government would be committed to it.

Source: GNA

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Losses in cyber crime double from $265m to $560m in 2009

Victims of cyber crimes have altogether lost a total of $560 million in 2009 from $265 million in 2008, and complaints have reached 337,000, a rise of 22.3%, the Computer Weekly reported citing FBI reports.

It said fake emails that used the FBI’s name represented 17% of all complaints. Other popular scams included hitman extortions, astrology readings, economics or “government stimulus” fraud, fake job sites and fake pop-ups for antivirus software.

Some of the scams were identified to have come from Ghana, the US, Nigeria, the UK, Canada and Malaysia. But the majority of reported perpetrators (65.4%) were from the US.

The report revealed that just over half the complainants were men, with two-thirds aged 30 to 50. Men lost on average $1.51 to every dollar a woman lost.

The scams include non-delivered goods, 20% of complaints, followed by identity theft (14%), credit card fraud (10%), auction fraud (10%) and computer fraud (8%).

The costliest crimes were investment fraud, which averaged $3,200 per incident, followed  by overpayment fraud ($2,500) and advance fee fraud ($1,500).

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Indian companies invest $277m in six Ghana projects

Indian businesses operating in Ghana have altogether invested $277 million in the country, the Calcutta News has reported citing vice president John Mahama, without naming the specific companies and the projects they are investing in.

The Vice President is currently attending the India-Africa Project Partnership Summit in India.

He also told the media in India that an Indian company is setting up a fertilizer producing plant in Ghana to serve the market in the country and for export to India.

The Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative (Iffco) is a multi-state non-profit organization, he said will produce enough to meet Ghana’s fertilizer requirements and export the surplus.

According to the report, Ghana is also wooing Indian investors to fund development of its oil and gas finds and is in discussions with both upstream and downstream companies for projects not just to harness the hydrocarbon assets but also to set up refineries and other industries.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana named in 50 new Iraq corruption cases

Investigators looking into more than 50 new cases of corruption in Iraq that are related to the war ravaged country’s reconstruction have found stolen money lodged in accounts around the world including Ghana.

The New York Times reports that in the past six months investigators are scrutinizing large cash transactions made by Americans involved in the nearly $150 billion reconstruction programme.

The report says some of the cases involve people suspected of mailing tens of thousands of dollars to themselves from Iraq. They have also been found to stuff the money into bags and suitcases when leaving Iraq, and in other cases, millions of dollars were moved through wire transfares.

According to the report, some of the suspects used the money to buy BMWs, Humvees and expensive jewelry, or to pay off enormous casino debts.

Some suspects also tried to conceal foreign bank accounts in Ghana, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Britain, investigators said. In other cases, cash was simply found stacked in home safes, it said.

While Ghana was named as one of the countries where some of the stolen money has been lodged no specific details were given.

This development will certainly raise the temperature over the discussion on Ghana’s offshore sector.

A ghanabusinessnews.com report citing the Guardian said Ghana has been warned strongly to be ware of the risks of becoming a tax haven with the establishment of offshore banking in the country.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) which issued the warning is asking the country to ensure that by becoming a tax haven, the country does not fuel corruption and crime in West Africa.

So far the Bank of Ghana has licensed Barclays Bank to operate offshore banking in the country.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghanaian student helps Nigeria fight fake drugs

Nigeria is one of the countries in the sub-region that suffers from the scourge of fake drugs and several attempts are being made to arrest the situation.

Thanks to a Ghanaian Ph.D student at Dartmouth, Ashifi Gogo, the country is set to arrest the situation and check the slide in sales for most of the country’s pharmaceutical companies.

According to a Wall Street Journal report Gogo’s start-up company Sproxil Inc.,has developed a software for detecting fake pharmaceuticals.

28-year-old Ashifi Gogo had to struggle to overcome the initial lack of confidence of possible investors to eventually get the attention of those who need the product.

Gogo’s woes were compounded further because he mentions Nigeria when he goes looking for funding. Unfortunately, Nigeria’s reputation as an unstable country, politically and a country known for scams did not help.

Thankfully, Sproxil received several small start-up grants and more recently won a $100,000 grant from USAID and Western Union, the report said. It is also supported by a small group of shareholders in Nigeria. The company hasn’t sold its technology to any outside investors, it added.

The report indicates that Sproxil’s technology allows customers to use their mobile phones to check on newly purchased drugs. Using scratch-off labels and ID numbers, customers can send a code via text message to a database in the U.S. to check whether the medicine they purchased is authentic. Nigeria is Africa’s biggest mobile-phone market, with more than 70 million users.

A major pharmaceutical company in Nigeria, Biofem Pharmaceuticals Ltd., is interested in the solution that is at the initial stage of trials.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana is first African country to open tourist office in Europe

Ghana has scored a first in tourism. The country is the first African country to open a full scale tourist office in Europe. The Ghana Tourist Board opened the office in the Netherlands in September 2009 according to information copied to ghanabusinessnews.com from the office.

The office known as “Ghana Verkeersbureau” will focus on destination branding of Ghana. It also circulates information on tour operators and tourist destinations to the European consumer and media.

According to the office, the Netherlands was chosen because Dutch travellers are considered trendsetting in the eco travel market.

Tourism is important to Ghana’s economy. A former Minister of Tourism, Mrs. Azumah Mensah was quoted as saying that the sector is the fourth highest foreign exchange earner for Ghana, and the country earned a total of $1.3 billion in 2008.

And being one of the fastest growing sectors in the economy it is expected to grow at an average rate of 4.1 % per annum over the next two decades.

Moreover, Ghana is the third most important tourist destination in West Africa according to Luigi Cabrini, Director, Sustainable Development of Tourism of the World Tourism Organisation (WTO).

The GNA had reported him as saying international tourist arrivals in Ghana for 2007 was 587,000 whiles tourism receipts for the same year amounted to $908 million with an average annual growth rate between 2000–2007 pegged at 5.7 percent.

According to a B&FT report, projected tourists arrivals for 2008 was pegged at 698,069 with receipts in monetary value amounting to US$1.2 million, as against 586,612 arrivals in 2007 amounting to US$1.17 million and one million visitors were targeted for 2009.

The San Francisco based Ethical Traveller included Ghana this year on its select list of 10 developing countries that attract tourists based on ethical values, and the country’s peaceful and progressive democratic practice also makes the country a tourism destination of choice.

Last week the Ghana Tourist Board announced the formation of a tourism police task force to enforce law and order in the tourism sector and protect tourists.

If more focused and result oriented programmes are pursued, the tourism sector in Ghana can become stronger economically.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana’s inflation falls to 14.2% in February

Ghana’s inflation continues its downward spiral hitting 14.2% in February from 14.8% in January.

Speaking to the media in Accra Wednesday March 10, 2010, the Director of Economic Statistics at the Ghana Statistical Service, Magnus Ebo Duncan said the drop indicates a 0.55%  drop from the January rate. The drop he said is the lowest in eight months and the lowest in 22 consecutive months.

He indicated that the food sector is the major contributor to the fall with the fruits sub-sector contributing a negative figure, adding however, that prices rose 1.5% in February.

The downward trend in the country’s inflation led to a drastic cut in the policy rate of the central bank. The Bank of Ghana cut its policy rate by 200 basis points from 18% to 16% in February.

Announcing the rate cut, the governor of the Bank of Ghana, Mr. Kwesi Amissah Arthur said the Monetary Policy Committee of the bank took into consideration recovery of the global economy, steady diminishing inflationary pressures and growing business and consumer confidence in the domestic economy.

As inflation continues to fall, further cuts in lending rates are expected.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Brew-Butler to build thermal power plant in Zambia

Known in Ghana as a football administrator and businessman, Nana Sam Brew-Butler is taking his business interests to east Africa, and this time he is getting into power generation.

Nana Brew-Butler once served as the chairman of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and also owns a football club, Ebusua Dwarfs in Ghana.

A story carried by a Zambian publication, the Post says Nana Brew-Butler has expressed interest in setting up a thermal power generation plant in Zambia.

Nana Butler is the Executive Chairman of the energy company, JG Global Gas and Oilfield Services Ltd, which has offices in Nigeria and Ghana.

“I am in Zambia for a few days and I am hoping to have a talk with Zesco and the government on setting up a thermal power generation plant. I know that Zambia mainly generates hydro power but you should think outside the box as a country and explore other ways of generating power like thermal power and liquid fuel,” he was quoted as saying.

Nana Brew-Butler said his company was currently running a US $400 million thermal power plant in Ghana and was ready to set up a plant in Zambia if given a chance, the report indicated.

But ghanabusinessnews.com checks on the Ghana project revealed otherwise. A source close to Nana Brew-Butler told ghanabusinessnews.com that the information carried in the Zambian medium cannot be correct. According to the source, Nana Brew-Butler’s company, Global Solutions Ghana Ltd., has secured permits from the GNPC to build thermal power generation plants in Ghana. The source said Nana Brew-Butler’s company intends to build the power plants in Kpone in the Eastern Region and Bonyire in the Western Region.
By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana will retain 38% of oil revenue – Amoako-Tuffuor

Ghana will retain 38% of the country’s oil revenue, an advisor to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr. Joe Amoako-Tuffuor has said according to a Daily Graphic report of March 6, 2010.

The newspaper citing a presentation he made, indicated that he said Ghana will earn from direct and indirect sources such as royalties, corporate income tax, dividends, additional income tax, surface rental and carried interest.

He was however reported to have said that what is yet to be determined is how the revenue should be paid – either in cash or in kind.

He said revenue inflow has been categorized into two – big spending era and low spending – adding that the big spending era spanned 2011-2018, while the low spending era was expected from 2018 and beyond.

Since the discovery of oil in commercial quantity was announced in Ghana in 2007, most people have focused on how much money Ghana will make. One estimate even says every Ghanaian will get 17 pesewas when the amount is shared among all Ghanaians.

Ghana’s total revenue from the oil and gas find will represent less than five per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to the Energy Minister, Dr Joe Oteng-Adjei, the Daily Graphic reported in its February 21, 2010 issue.

With the country’s current GDP at well over $18 billion, Dr Oteng-Adjei said the total revenue to the government and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) in respect of royalties, income tax and interest payment on oil and gas exploration would be $1 billion per annum, at an average crude oil price of $60 per barrel.

Speaking at a workshop on ‘Good Governance and the Emerging Oil and Gas Industry’ for selected journalists reporting from Parliament, the minister captured the scenario thus, “If we are to share the revenue to the 23 million Ghanaians, each of us will receive about 12 cents per day (17Gp per day)” and wondered whether that could be the panacea for the economic problems of the country.

Others have also said the benefits to the country, will be more in the area of employment to local people, even though, not many Ghanaians have expertise in the oil industry.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana’s oil production plans progress as Weatherford Pipeline wins contract

Plans and works towards the commercial production of Ghana’s oil are well on track as another international specialty company, Weatherford Pipeline & Specialty Services Group has won a contract to work on the Jubilee oil field.

According to information in the global oil industry available to ghanabusinessnews.com, Weatherford has been awarded a contract by the French company already working on the Jubilee field for precommissioning and commissioning services on the field.

The information say the contract includes pigging of production, water and gas injection flowlines; hydrostatic testing of the flowlines, riser and jumpers; followed by dewatering of the gas injection system.

During installation and post installation Weatherford will also perform electrical and pressure monitoring and testing of the umbilicals from the floating production, storage, and offloading vessel (FPSO), it added.

Information on Weatherford’s website says the company offers a host of services used throughout the lifecycle of pipelines and process facilities, onshore and offshore.

“Weatherford employs approximately 40,000 employees worldwide, operates in more than 100 countries with 800 service bases and 16 technology development and training facilities,” it says.

The Jubilee field is the largest oil field to be discovered in West Africa in the last 10 to 15 years. According to Tullow Oil, the major stakeholder in the field, it contains 1.8 billion barrels of oil and has 17 wells.

Commercial production of oil is due to start in the latter part of 2010.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana calls for Malaysian help in oil and gas sector

Ghana is asking for Malaysian help to develop the country’s nascent oil and gas industry.

The Ghana High Commissioner to Malaysia, Dan Abodakpi is reported by the Malaysian media as saying Malaysia can play an important role in Ghana’s oil and gas industry by assisting in human resource development and providing technical expertise.

He said Ghana could learn from Malaysia’s state-owned oil and gas company Petronas.

Mr. Abodakpi indicated that he has had talks with Petronas officials on ways of building collaboration between Petronas and Ghana’s state-owned oil explorer, the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).

Ghana discovered oil in commercial quantity in June 2007. The country has the largest oil field to be discovered in West Africa in the last 10 to 15 years. The Jubilee oil field according to Tullow Oil, the major stakeholders in the field contains about 1.8 billion barrels of oil and has 17 wells.

Commercial production of oil is expected at the later part of 2010.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana government to release GH¢20m next week to pay contractors all arrears

All arrears owed road contractors from the previous administration are expected to be cleared within the next three weeks, Mr Joe Gidisu, Minister of Roads and Highways announced on Thursday.

For starters, government would next week release GH¢20 million from the Road Fund as part payment, and “it should be possible to clear the rest after two weeks”, the Minister said.

Mr Gidisu made the announcement, which was received with thunderous applause, at the sod-cutting ceremony for the re-alignment of the Spintex- Road behind the Shangri- La in Accra by President John Atta Mills.

The 2.6km road project, estimated at a cost of GH¢12.7 million, with finance from the World Bank, is to be carried out by Messrs Ussuya Ghana Limited.

The project, which realigns the Spintex Road around the Accra Shopping Mall behind the Shangri- La Hotel, links the Airport bypass, 100 metres from the existing Polo Court Roundabout.

It includes the construction of a railway bridge to separate the railway line and the road as well as the construction of a service road to the motorway around the Accra Shopping Mall, which shall be the beginning of future service roads along the motorway.

The road shall be a dual carriage way with provision for walkways and streetlights.

Sources close to the Ministry said discussions have been held with the Ministry of Transport, Ghana Railway Authority and Ghana Airport Authority to ensure that minimum disruption occurs to existing transport infrastructure in the area.

The project is expected to reduce congestion significantly around the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange and shall dovetail into other projects within the Accra East Corridor targeted at improving traffic flow and reducing congestion.

Other Roads to be constructed on the Accra East Corridor Project to be financed by the World Bank are the reconstruction of Giffard Road into a dual carriageway, construction of the Spintex Road (Flower Pot) to Burma Camp Junction on the Giffard Road, and the construction of the Maate Tsuru Road (Maate Tsuru-Teshie Link)

Source: GNA

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Ghana faces first biggest challenge to oil find from Ivory Coast

The first major challenge to Ghana’s oil find has been put up by western neighbour Ivory Coast. Since oil was discovered in commercial quantity in June 2007, it has all been euphoria and hope for economic expansion.

There was the US-China competition to take control of the oil, which is not really a serious problem, but the claim by Ivory Coast that the recent find in the Dzata-1 well in the Cape Three Point led by Russia’s second largest oil explorer Luk Oil is a major challenge to the country’s emerging oil industry that the authorities are not prepared for.

According to reports in the Ghanaian media, the Ivory Coast is laying claim to the location offshore where the recent oil was discovered.

The claim coming barely a week after the latest discovery was announced, and caught unprepared, the Ghanaian authorities have rushed an urgent Bill, the Ghana Boundaries Bill to Parliament for delibrations and passing into law.

On a Joy News bulletin monitored by ghanabusinessnews.com Thursday March 4, 2010, the Minister of Lands, Alhaji Collins Dauda said despite an understanding that had existed between the two neighbours over the median line between the two, the Ivorians have written to Ghana indicating that they will not respect the median line.

Meanwhile, he said Ghana had made submissions to the UN asking to expand the country’s shoreline beyond 200 nautical miles. He added that the Ivorians too have made proposals to the UN on a similar matter.

Coming at a time when commercial production of oil is due to begin in the last quarter of the year, this is seen as a big jolt to the country.

Commenting on the development on Joy News, Security Analyst, Dr. Emmanuel Kwesi Ennin said the Ghanaian authorities have never taken all the major issues surrounding the oil find seriously, except to make political capital out of it and make promises of economic growth.

He revealed that the Department of Fisheries and Oceanography of the University of Ghana had done a great deal of work on the sea boundaries of Ghana, but the politicians have not given any serious thought to the results of the work.

Alhaji Dauda however, believes that the issue can be resolved through negotiations.
By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Korea to assist Ghana develop energy sector

South Korea has indicated it is interested in assisting Ghana to develop the country’s energy sector. Ghana is due to start commercial production of oil later in the year, after oil was discovered in the country in commercial quantities in June 2007.

The Korean President, Lee Myung-bak , according to the Korean media made his country’s intention known when he met with Ghana’s Vice President, John Dramani Mahama who is in the country for a four-day visit.

Lee was quoted as saying that he was deeply impressed by Ghana’s democracy and economic growth, which has made the country a development model for the continent.

“Korea will enhance cooperation with African countries including Ghana this year. The cooperation between Ghana and Korea, each of which is the gateway to West Africa and East Asia, will have a great synergetic effect,” Lee was quoted as saying.

Korea is stepping up cooperation with Africa as part of its efforts to diversify the diplomatic horizon and secure stable energy supply, the reports said.

Last November, Korea and the African Union issued a declaration in Seoul promising to strengthen cooperation in trade, investment, energy, agriculture, security, climate change, education and other various issues. In the statement, Seoul also pledged to nearly double its official development assistance to the continent to over $340 million by 2012.

Ghana has become a destination of choice for most global economic power brokers, including the US and China all scampering to have deeper and stronger grip on the country’s nascent oil industry.

Ghana apart from finding oil has also carved a niche for itself as a good example of democratic governance and stability on the continent, and all these are adding to the country’s attractiveness.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana’s mining sector to see consistent growth

Ghana’s mining sector holds promise for growth. The sector holds great potential, the first quarter 2010 Ghana Mining Report by the research firm, Research and Markets has said.

The political stability in the country and the clear regulatory standards governing the industry have been noted as factors that would engender this growth.

According to the report, it is expected that the value of the mining industry in Ghana will increase form $0.64 billion in 2009 to $1.68 billion in 2014 buoyed mainly by the strong price of gold.

Ghana is the second largest producer of gold in Africa after South Africa and it is among the world’s five top producers of manganese ore. The country also produces significant quantities of bauxite and diamond.

Gold mining contributes about 90% of the country’s overall mining revenue.

According to the Bank of Ghana, the exports value of gold was US$ 2.6 billion, compared to US$2.2 billion in 2008.

The authors of the report took into consideration, data from local statistics agencies and associations, drew on the expertise of the UN’s Industrial Commodity Statistics Database, the US Geological Survey and the World Bureau of Metal Statistics and then used their own proprietary econometric model to do the forecast.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Is the US after Ghana’s oil at all cost?

Ghana is on the path of becoming an oil producing country, and there is no doubt about that.

Some oil industry watchers predict that in the next five years, Ghana will be a small oil producer though, but a significant player in the industry.
But it appears a section of the US media thinks that America has a right to take charge of the country’s oil come what may.

In recent times some publications in the Wall Street Journal and particularly Forbes.com have sort to impugn the integrity of Ghana and to question the country’s sovereignty.

One of the articles on Forbes actually went to the extent of accusing President Obama of being responsible for an American power company losing an energy contract to build 130-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant at Aboadze in the Western region.

Meanwhile, a ghanabusinessnews.com investigation of this power project contract revealed that there was no contract at all that has been awarded to HPI. Indeed, ghanabusinessnews.com communicated with officials of HPI by telephone and by email and their responses were included in the report that was published on April 16, 2009.

It is curious therefore, that the Forbes article will seek to link the failure to award a contract that never was to Obama’s doing.

Indeed, in the said report ghanabusinessnews.com spoke to the Canadian Embassy officials in Ghana, and they denied their government’s involvement with any such contract, and yet this Forbes article is mentioning the Canadian government again.

In another recent article by one J. Peter Pharm, the Forbes went overboard with the headline “The African nation flirts with China on a major energy deal.”

Well, Ghana has the right as a sovereign nation to choose who the country does business with. Period.

And this seemingly disrespectful article is making reference to the country’s refusal to allow the ExxonMobil-Kosmos Energy deal to have gone through.  The facts of the case couldn’t have been lost on the writer of this irreverent article if indeed, the author wanted to be fair, objective and truthful.

The Kosmos Enery-ExxonMobil deal was not approved by Ghana because Kosmos Energy clearly violated the terms of the agreement it has with the partners on the Jubilee oil field.

By the terms of the agreement, if any one of the partners wanted to sell it’s stake, the other partners should be given the first option to buy, and until that is done, outsiders cannot be shown the data room – but that was exactly what Kosmos Energy failed to do. Without reference to the partners, which include, the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Tullow Oil, Anadarko Petroleum and the others, Kosmos opened its data room to neighbours, Texas-based ExxonMobil.

And the author of the Forbes article who obviously must believe that America must take control of the oil in Ghana sees nothing wrong with the illegality in the conduct of Kosmos Energy and comes down on Ghana, which has the right to exercise its sovereignty.

The author’s call for deeper scrutiny of Ghana’s action in not approving the Kosmos-ExxonMobil  by Washington is not only comical but absurd. And the assertion that the action “threatens to waste hundreds of millions of American taxpayer-funded aid dollars and undo hard-won reforms,” is to say the least alarmist and unfounded.

This article isn’t the first, since Ghana refused to approve the deal, and doesn’t look like it will be the last. But the section of the US media that thinks America has the right to tell other nations how to manage their own affairs must be living in a dream world of their own. If indeed, this section of the media that is literally stampeding Washington to do what it certainly cannot do by forcing the Ghana government to approve what is an obvious illegality, then they must think again especially when they are making reference to the rule of law.

They may be scared or even unsettled by the economic rise and might of China, but they should also know that the world has evolved and America will not always remain a world superpower, both militarily and economically. And more importantly Ghana deserves some respect.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Russian oil major discovers more oil in Ghana

A consortium of oil companies led by Russia’s second oil major, LUKOIL has announced the discovery of a significant hydrocarbon accumulation in Ghana, making this discovery the latest find of more oil in the country.

In a press statement issued Friday February 26, 2010, LUKOIL said the discovery was made in the Dzata-1 structure of the Cape Three Points Deep Water Block in the Gulf of Guinea offshore the Republic of Ghana.

According to the statement, the total area of the block is about 5,200 square kilometers, while the water depth within the block ranges from 200 meters to 3,000 meters. The Dzata-1 structure lies at a depth of almost 2 kilometers.

It added that the Dzata-1 well, drilled to a depth of some 4.5 kilometers from the sea level, tapped a 94-meter-thick hydrocarbon column containing a 25-meter multilayer oil and gas pay. The primary reservoir sandstone contains gas and light oil.

The consortium is made up of LUKOIL Overseas with 56.66%, US Vanco holding 28.34% and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, (GNPC) with a 15% stake.

Ghana is at the threshold of becoming a significant oil producing country when commercial production of oil begins in the last quarter of 2010.

The country has the largest oil field to be discovered in West Africa in the last 10 to 15 years, the Jubilee oil field has 17 wells, according to Tullow Oil, the major stakeholder in the field. Tullow has also said it will make Ghana one of the top 50 oil producers in the world when production begins.

There is growing interest in Ghana’s nascent oil industry as there are reports of several companies applying to the GNPC to acquire blocks for exploration in the country.

Meanwhile, there are intense discussions about how the oil money will be utilized to avoid what has become known as the oil curse – the case where most African countries that have found oil have not improved economically and poverty has not declined in these countries leading to unrest and violence resulting from misapplication of oil revenue.

In Ghana however, the President, John Atta Mills announced during the State of the Nation address Wednesday February 25, 2010 that he has instructed the Ministry of Finance “to prepare an Oil and Gas Revenue Management Bill which will ensure transparency in management, and will commit the bulk of the oil revenues to a shared growth fund to finance investment in human resources development and other productive infrastructure”.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Scanfuel’s Ghana Jatropha plantation wipes out settlements, farms

An ominous cloud of uncertainty gathers around a Jatropha project in Ghana.

A Norwegian company, Scanfuel is operating what is currently noted to be the largest Jatropha plantation in Ghana.

The company through its Ghana subsidiary, Scanfuel Ghana Ltd., has acquired 400,000 hectares of land in the Asante Akim North Municipality of the Ashanti Region to plant Jatropha for the production of biodiesel for export.

But a visit by ghanabusinessnews.com and the International Correspondent of the European Energy Review to the farms and surrounding villages revealed an enterprise operating with impunity and disregard for local people, their way of life and local laws.

According to the Chief of Efirise, one of the settler farmer communities within the operation area of Scanfuel, Amadu Zakari, the company acquired the land from the paramount chief of Agogo, Nana Akuoku Sarpong. He added that Scanfuel subsequently offered to pay GH¢1 per acre of land to the farmers whose land it was taking over.

According to Zakari, most farmers rejected the offer because the amount was seen as paltry. Scanfuel, however is going ahead with its project, planting and harvesting the Jatropha seeds for processing and expanding by the day.

Local people are worried but scared, as they believe there are powerful hands behind Scanfuel.

Scanfuel uses heavy agric machinery to clear everything in its way including human settlements, crop farms and economic trees.

A walk around the farm revealed Dawadawa and shea trees that have been cut down. The Dawadawa tree serves as an essential food and medicinal plant for the local people. The shea tree, apart from serving as food, also has huge economic potentials for local people. The importance of the shea tree is seen in the government of Ghana’s inclusion of the shea nut in its major development programme for the northern part of the country.

The shea tree once it has survived the first five years of its early stages of germination and growth, grows slowly and takes about 30 years to reach maturity and from here, it can live for up to three hundred years and can bear fruit for two hundred years. It has food, medicinal and export value to local people.

The Municipal Chief Executive of the Asante Akim North Municipal Assembly, Thomas Osei-Bonsu in an interview told ghanabusinessnews.com that Scanfuel Ghana Ltd., is not registered with the local authority. He indicated that the entrance of Scanfuel into the area was facilitated by deceit.

“The farmers were misinformed at the beginning of the project,” he said. According to him, the farmers were told they were going to be engaged as outgrowers for Scanfuel but were not told they were going to lose their lands, but as it turned out, their arable lands have been taken away from them.

Even as political head of the area, he said “no one knows what compensation Scanfuel paid for acquiring all that land.”

All the fertile lands of the people of Efirise, Dukuse, Bamala, Brentuo, Enso Nyame ye and surrounding villages have been taken over by Scanfuel and the people are left with nothing, but fear, uncertainty and offers of jobs on the plantation at a daily wage of GH¢3.

Some local people have rejected the offer and are waiting in vain to see what will happen. Scanfuel has employed about 200 people who are currently working on the plantation.

“Scanfuel is opening itself up for litigation,” Osei-Bonsu warned.

On occasions when he had called Scanfuel officials to discuss the issues and find a solution, the company has not responded to his calls, but continues to expand, he told ghanabusinesnews.com.

Officials of Scanfuel at the company’s Agogo office declined to talk to journalists when we called on them Monday February 15, 2010.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Court adjourns Vodafone, GT sale case to March 9

The Supreme Court, on Monday adjourned to March 9, the sale of Ghana Telecom (GT) to Vodafone International Holdings BV case.
This was after the nine-member panel had found that the High Court which referred the matter to it had not complied with the rules of the court.

The Court said: “We find that the trial High Court did not comply with rule 67 of CI 16. We hereby order the High Court to comply within 14 days.”

Rule 67 of CI 16 states: “A reference to the court before determination of any question, cause or matter pursuant to any provisions of the Constitution or of any other law shall be by way of a case stated by the court below or by the person or authority making the reference.”

The sub-rule stipulates that the case should contain a summary of the action or matter before the court below, argument of counsels, if any, among others.

Mr Festus Kayi, Counsel for GT, Mr Kojo Koomson and Mr Bright Akwetey who represented the Registrar-General’s Department and plaintiffs respectively, told the court that they had only been served with hearing notices on Monday. The Attorney General was not represented.

The panel includes Mrs Justice Georgina T. Wood who presided, Mr Justice William Atuguba, Professor S.K. Dateh-Bah, Mr Justice S.A. Brobbey, Ms Justice Rose Owusu.

The rest are Mrs Justice Sophia Adinyira, Mr Justice Jones Victor Dotse, Mr Justice Anin Yeboah and Mr Justice B.T. Aryeetey.

The issues set out before the court include whether or not an agreement executed by the government and ratified by Parliament could be challenged in the High Court, and whether or not any procedural or substantive errors or defects in the Sale and Purchase Agreement was or could be cured by the ratification by Parliament.

The Supreme Court would also determine whether or not Articles 61.6, 10.7, 12, and 13.21 of the Sales and Purchase Agreement dated July 3, 2008 and executed by government, Vodafone International Holdings BV and Ghana Telecom contravenes the country’s constitution and therefore renders the agreement void.

Six Ghanaians initiated the legal action against the government last year at the Commercial Court and the representatives of the Attorney General, counsels for Vodafone and the Registrar-General agreed on the issues stated.

The six  – Professor Agyemang Badu Akosah, Kosi Deddey, Dr. Nii Moi Thompson, Naa Kordai Assimeh, Rodaline Imoru Ayarna and Kwame Jantua – initiated the action against the government in October last year.

The referral of the issues to the Supreme Court was prompted by the fact that they bordered on the 1993 Constitution and thus need interpretation for which the Supreme Court has exclusive jurisdiction.

The referral of the case, which has Ghana Telecom (now Vodafone) and the Registrar-General’s Department as interested parties, temporarily halts proceedings at the Commercial Court until the determination of the issues by the Supreme Court.

In the substantive suit, the plaintiffs are contending that the Sale and Purchase Agreement entered into among the Government of Ghana, GT and Vodafone for the sale of 70 per cent of GT for $900 million was against public interest and constituted an abuse of the discretionary powers of the government.

They said they were opposed to the unlawful establishment of the said Enlarged GT Group, as it undermined the sovereignty of the country and endangered the national security of Ghana.

According to them, the decision of the government to transfer the assets, properties, shares, equipment, among others, to Vodafone was obnoxious, unlawful and inimical to the public interest, particularly when no consideration was required to be paid by Vodafone for the stated assets.

The group argued that the three Ministers of State and the managing director of GT who signed the agreement on behalf of the government did not exercise the requisite level of circumspection required of them as public officers in relation to public property.

The plaintiffs are, therefore, seeking reliefs from the court, including a declaration that the agreement entered into by the government was not in accordance with the due process of law and was, therefore, a nullity.

They are also demanding that the court should give an order declaring that the forcible grouping of autonomous state institutions established by law – Voltacom, Fibreco, VRA Fibre Network and VRA Fibre Assets – with GT to form the purported Enlarged GT Group was unlawful and, therefore, void and of no legal effect.

The plaintiffs are further praying for an order of perpetual injunction to restrain the government from disposing of its 70 per cent share of GT to Vodafone or any other foreign company without first exploring avenues for funding and better management in Ghana.

Source: GNA

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Jamaican company to save Ghana $130m in School Feeding Programme

A small Jamaican company has won a US government sponsored contract in Ghana to streamline the country’s problem plagued school feeding programme which is costing the country $250 million every year.

The company, Student Card Limited (SCL) is reputed for providing technology-based solutions for some financial administration problems that plague schools, the Jamaican Gleaner reports.

The contract sum is not disclosed but the technology transfer is expected to reduce the expenditure that the Ghana government currently makes on feeding the 500,000 school children covered in the programme. Ghana spends about $250 million every year on the programme, but SCL’s technology will be expected to cut the cost to $120 million yearly.

SCL is also receiving a financial boost from US billionaire Geroge Soros for the programme and that will give Soros a 20% stake in the business, according to the report.

The new system, according to SCL CEO, Khary Robinson will replace the current paper-based voucher system.

The school feeding programme was started in 2005 as part of the country’s Millenium Development Goals (MDG). The aim was to provide one hot meal a day to school children as a way of encouraging enrolment in public schools. It was also meant to promote increase in domestic food production, reduce hunger and ensure school attendance and retention among the target group of school children in most deprived communities in Ghana.

The first phase of the programme expected to be implemented over a five-year period from 2006 to 2010 was expected to cover over 200,000 pupils in the first year and an additional 300,000 children each year. The number of children is cumulatively expected to reach 1.5 million by 2010. Hopefully, the programme was expected to cover all pre and primary school children in the country.

But the programme appears to be plagued by so many problems among them nepotism, mismanagement and corruption. It is hoped that the introduction of technology by SCL will reduce corruption and save the country the expected $130 million.

According to the report, the testing of the system will begin in Ghanaian schools in March 2010, and full card distribution is expected to begin in September 2010.

SCL is reportedly negotiating partnerships for its operations in Ghana, key among them being securing a telecommunications partner, top-up partners, and a banking partner. The directors say the main investment of US$2.5 million has already been made in the development of the software.

“What remains to be put in place for Ghana are the cards and terminals,” Khary Robinson was quoted as saying.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghanaian businesses not likely to benefit from policy rate cut – Analyst

The Bank of Ghana cut its benchmark lending rate by 200 basis points from 18% to 16% Friday February 19, 2010. It is the second time in three years that the central bank has done so. But the country’s expectant business sector won’t benefit from the cut anytime soon, an analyst has said.

There are expectations of further cut in the interest rate if inflation continues to decline.

Ghana’s inflation has been declining. Inflation stood at 20.53% in March 2009 and it went up to 20.56% in April 2009. The rate of inflation increased for six consecutive months from November 2008 to April 2009, driven primarily by the non-food group, such as hotels, restaurants and cafes.

But in January 2010 inflation fell to 14.8% from 16% in December 2009 which was the seventh consecutive time raising expectations for a cut in lending rates, particularly from small businesses.

Speaking to ghanabusinessnews.com soon after the announcement of the cut, Sampson Akligoh, Senior Analyst at Databank Ghana said “the development is an interesting one as we all know the private sector has been calling for a cut for sometime now, because even for Ghana, our interest rate is one of the highest in Africa.”

But his concern is that “industries will not benefit immediately because there is market failure,” he said, adding that “the transmission mechanisms do not work and so we won’t see decline in lending rates of the commercial banks in line with the cut by the central bank.”

He said now that the prime rate is down and there is a reduction in treasury rates, the banks should reduce their lending rates, but that is not likely to happen anytime soon.

Mr. Akligoh acknowledged that the central bank is making efforts to remove the bottlenecks.

“We have a different situation now, we have treasury bills declining, the prime rate coming down and inflation declining. When you combine all these you should see some reinforcement for lending rates to come down,” he said.

He said industry is happy and would like to see further cut in the interest rate. However, he warned that “we must be careful not to push the economy to real negative interest rate regime because that also has implications for the expectations of foreign investors who look at our medium to long term debts and the pressure on the domestic auction market.”

In another development, the Managing Director of Fidelity Bank Ghana, Mr. Edward Effah speaking at a Fidelity Bank/GJA Soiree in Accra Friday February 19, 2010, said commercial banks cannot cut their lending rates immediately in line with the cut in the prime rate, because their lenders will expect to be paid previous interest rates on their deposits.

He however said, interest rates offered by commercial banks will go down in about six months time following the cut in the central bank’s lending rate.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Bank of Ghana cuts policy rate to 16%

As widely expected the Bank of Ghana has cut its policy rate by 200 basis points from 18% to 16%.

 The Governor of the central bank, Mr. Kwesi Amissah-Arthur announced the new rate at a press conference at the bank Friday February 19, 2010.

 He said the Monetary Policy Committee of the bank took into consideration recovery of the global economy, steady diminishing inflationary pressures and growing business and consumer confidence in the domestic economy to determine the rate.

Details soon.

 

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Bank of Ghana to cut interest rate today

The Bank of Ghana Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) started its quarterly meeting Monday to review the performance of the Ghanaian economy.

Today Friday February 19, 2010 the MPC will meet the press at a press conference and issue a statement. And for the first time, it is certain that the central bank will announce a cut in the prime rate.

The announcement of the prime rate, has always been the highlight of the MPC’s press conferences, often overshadowing all other issues in the economy.

Earlier this year, the governor of the central bank, who will be addressing the media for the second time since he took office has given the indication that because inflation has fallen, interest rates must be cut.

As predicted in December last year when Ghana’s inflation dropped for the sixth consecutive time to 16%, January inflation fell to 14.8%.

But before now, Ghanaian banks have been jostling each other trying to cut down lending rates. The current prime rate stands at 18%, but commercial banks charge around 32% interest.

The Bloomberg News however suggests that the expected cut in the prime rate today, will ease pressure on borrowers who have defaulted on more than one in 10 loans in Ghana.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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AngloGold Ashanti earns $228m on higher gold price

AngloGold Ashanti says it would increase its final dividend after fourth quarter adjusted headline earnings rose to a record $228 million on higher gold price and increased production from the company’s mines in Africa and South America.

A press statement issued by AngloGold Ashanti Wednesday February 17, 2010 announcing the earnings and copied to ghanabusinessnews.com says the final dividend of 70 South African cents a share is 17% more than the interim dividend of 2009 and the total dividend declaration of 130 South African cents, a 30% improvement on 2008’s final declaration.

It added that adjusted headline earnings rose to $228m, or 62 US cents a share for the three months to December 31, compared with $162m, or 45 US cents in the previous quarter. The figure for the third quarter excludes the cost of buying back hedge contracts.

Commenting, the CEO of AngloGold Ashanti Mark Cutifani said “there’s a strong level of confidence in our ability to generate cash over the long term as we continue to make improvements to the operational side of our business.”

“The increased dividend is a sign of that growing confidence,” he said.

AngloGold Ashanti has over the past year reduced net debt by a third to $868m and cut its hedge commitments by more than two thirds to 3.9 million ounces in order to increase exposure to the gold price. Now, with the financial platform in place, the company is implementing its Project ONE business improvement initiative to lower costs and increase production in coming years.

AngloGold Ashanti is one of the major global mining companies operating in Ghana.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana wants Globacom to start operations on country’s Independence Day

The Minister of Communications says the government of Ghana is working hard to enable Globacom to launch its operations in the country on March 6, 2010, the country’s Independence Day.

“Let me assure Globacom that government is doing everything within its reach to allow for your major launch to coincide with our Independence celebration,” Mr. Haruna Iddrisu said.

The minister was speaking during a ceremony at which Globacom presented a cheque of $250,000 to the national football team, the Black Stars.

He said he had personally ordered the National Communications Authority (NCA), the National Bureau of Communications and ZTE Corporation of China to allow the 800 spectrum which will be used by Globacom to be free for the mobile provider’s use within 14 days.

But a source close to Globacom has denied that the company was planning to start operations in March. He however, told ghanabusinessnews.com over the phone that the company was planning to launch its services this year.

Globacom is one of the six mobile phone companies licensed to operate in Ghana.

In August 2009, ghanabusinessnews.com broke the news that Globacom was laying fibre optic cables in Ghana for its broadband service.
Globacom received the license to operate in Ghana in June 2008 from the National Communications Authority (NCA) in Accra. But regulatory and permit challenges have slowed it from setting up its base stations to begin operations. Ghana’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently granted it license to that effect, paving the way for Globacom to begin building its cell sites.

When the company was issued its license to begin operations in Ghana, Globacom’s management announced the establishment of its Glo-1 Submarine cable to be laid through Europe, Accra to Nigeria.

The other mobile phone companies operating in Ghana are MTN, Tigo, Vodafone, Kasapa and Zain. MTN has the biggest market.

According to data from the NCA there are 15,108,916 mobile phone subscribers in Ghana as at the end of December 2009, and about 7.5 million subscribe to MTN, according to sources within the company. Ghana has a population of about 22 million.

Meanwhile, a report by a research company, Companies and Markets published in August 2009 has described Ghana’s mobile telephony industry as one of the largest in West Africa.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Kosmos awards seismic reservoir contract to OHM

Texas-based oil and gas company, Kosmos Energy and stakeholder in Ghana’s oil industry has awarded a seismic reservoir characterization study contract to OHM Rock Solid Images.

The Rigzone reports that the study will cover the Odum field, offshore Ghana on the West Cape three Points Block. A 3D seismic data volume covering 500km2 will be inverted for the reservoir properties and calibrated to the Odum-1 and Odum-2 discoveries it adds.

The two discoveries are approximately 18km east of Kosmos’ Mahogany-1 exploration well and the Jubilee oil field.

Senior Vice-President of Rock Solid Images, Gareth Taylor, was pleased with the deal, said “we look forward to the challenge of applying our robust and repeatable rock physics-driven seismic reservoir characterization workflows to the Odum oil discovery.”

Ghana’s nascent oil and gas sector is seeing a proliferation of major oil and gas industry players in the country, all seeking to have a stake in what is expected to be one of the very important oil indutries in the world in the next six years, according to sources close to the industry.

Commercial production of oil in Ghana is expected to begin by the end of the year.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Olam to invest $31.5m in Ghana wheat mill

Global agricultural products supply chain management and food products company, Olam says it will invest $31.5 million to establish a wheat mill in Ghana.

A report by Channel NewsAsia says the wheat mill will be situated in Ghana’s main port city of Tema.

Olam, which is headquartered in Singapore, expects to start building the 500 metric tonne per day mill in March 2010 and actual operation will start by September 2011. It aims to achieve 115,000 metric tonnes in annual production in the first three years, the report says.

Ghana, according to Olam is a large market for wheat flour in West Africa. Ghana consumes about 270,000 tonnes of flour annually, it added.

Olam, the report indicated also said wheat milling is an attractive opportunity because consumption is expected to increase by 7.5%  per annum over the next five years.

When established, Olam will be the third flour mill in Ghana. There are already in existence, the Takoradi Flour Mill and Irani Brothers Ltd.

While wheat is not grown in Ghana, bread made from wheat is a very big part of Ghanaian diet.

When ghanabusinessnews.com made phone calls to Olam’s office Friday morning for more details, the phone was not answered.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Private sector investment essential to bolster Africa’s infrastructure – Laing

The importance of private sector investment in expanding Africa’s infrastructure has been emphasized.

Speaking at the Africa Investment Forum in Accra, Ghana the CEO of CDC Group Plc, Richard Laing said Africa’s infrastructure needs in critical need of investment. He said private sector involvement is key to strengthening the continent’s infrastructure.

“Africa’s infrastructure requires around US$93 billion a year, when you realise the current spend is less than half that at around US$45 billion a year, you realise just how much scope there is for private sector investment and expertise,” he said.

He therefore called on African governments to create the atmosphere conducive for investment in the sector.

Africa continues to face challenges in infrastructure development. For instance, Africa requires about $46 billion to meet its power needs.

Writing in an article last year, the World Bank Vice President for Africa, Obiageli Ezekwesili said Africa’s economic growth and poverty reduction are closely linked with the quality of its infrastructure; its power, transport systems, water supply and sanitation, and its ICT networks.  In the current economic climate, finding the financial resources for Africa’s huge infrastructure needs is an enormous challenge. But without those resources, African governments will find it very difficult to catch up with other regions of the world. The continent’s institutions and international partners must work together to overcome this challenge and quickly.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana inflation drops to 14.8% in January 2010

Ghana’s inflation continues to drop as predicted in December last year when the inflation dropped for the sixth consecutive time, making the latest drop from 16% in December 2009 to 14.8% in January the seventh consecutive time.

The business community in Ghana especially has been clamouring for a drop in the prime rate following drop in inflation. The current prime rate in Ghana is 18%. The community argues that the high cost of borrowing is crippling businesses in the face of the yet to be fully recovered from global economic crisis.

The Bank of Ghana Monetary Committee (MPC) announced it will start meeting Monday February 15 to review the economy and it is expected that at a press conference to follow on Friday February 19, a new reduced prime rate is expected to be announced.

The Bloomberg news citing an email from Razia Khan, Chartered Bank’s regional head of research for Africa said Slowing inflation is “reinforcing our view that the way is open for the MPC to cut interest rates by at least 100” basis points.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana has not blocked Kosmos-ExxonMobil deal, but threatens to if…

Ghana is said to have denied blocking the deal between Kosmos Energy and ExxonMobil, but threatens to do so if the parties do not abandon the deal, the Reuters reported quoting unnamed government sources.

The report citing an earlier report by the Wall Street Journal Tuesday  which said that the government had blocked the deal, indicated that the government of Ghana has written to ExxonMobil about the deal but had not gone beyond repeating the threat.

ExxonMobil was reported to have offered $4 billion for Kosmos Energy’s 30% stake in Ghana’s largest oil field, the Jubilee oil field, but the approval of the government of Ghana which could have sealed the deal was never given, as the government expressed interest in buying the stake.

But a source close to the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) has told ghanabusinessnews.com that Kosmos Energy broke the law when it opened its data room secretly to ExxonMobil without the prior consent of all the parties in the agreement as the laws of Ghana stipulates.

According to the terms of the agreement for all the parties with stakes in the field, any one party that decides to sell its stake should give one party within the deal the first option.

Asked why he thought Kosmos Energy would breach the term of agreement, he said, “my understanding was that Kosmos did that to speculatively raise its bid higher, so that in case one of the parties shows interest in the stake, it couldn’t offer a lesser bid.”

The Jubilee oil field is the largest oil field to be discovered in West Africa in the last 10 to 15 years. According to Tullow Oil, the majority stakeholder, it has 17 wells.

Commercial production of oil in Ghana is expected to begin this year.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Mining companies agree to enhance support for development in mining communities

A new initiative has been launched in South Africa to enhance the contribution of mining companies to development in countries where they operate.

The initiative known as “Mining: Partnership for Development” was jointly launched by Ghana’s Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Alhaji Collins Dauda and the CEO of AngloGold Ashanti, Mark Cutifani at the INDABA Mining Convention in Cape Town, South Africa Tuesday February 2, 2010.

According to a press statement from the organizers, the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) copied to ghanabusinessnews.com, the initiative by ICMM’s 19-member companies is aimed to enhance mining’s contribution to development and poverty reduction through multi-stakeholder partnerships.

The initiative is based on a formal policy commitment to actively seek partnerships across six priority themes – poverty reduction; revenue management; regional development planning; local content; social investment; and dispute resolution.

In a remark, Cutifani said, “Enhancing mining’s developmental impacts is a critically important issue and needs to be undertaken through developing solid partnerships, particularly with host governments and communities. Together with my fellow CEOs on the ICMM Council, I call on governments, donors and civil society to work with us to improve the social and economic outcomes from mining investments.”

The IMMC together with UNCTAD, says it has established through its internationally-recognized research, that multi-stakeholder partnerships are key to enhancing mining’s economic contribution.

ICMM research has identified 41 economies which currently or in recent decades have relied significantly on mining. Many of these are developing countries with high poverty levels, and many are in Africa. However, while some still suffer from the so-called “resource curse”, others – such as Ghana- have been able to prove that this curse is not inevitable, the statement said.

In Ghana where mining has been going on for over 100 years, opinions are divided over the benefits of the industry to the country.

Recently the President of the World Bank described mining as “risky business that creates enclaves that benefit only a small number of people.”

While the mining industry in Ghana attracts lots of foreign investment, it also has attracted some of the bitterest criticisms against any industry. Most NGOs and Community Based Organisations (CBO) accuse the industry of failing to pay its due to local communities where mining companies operate. They often cite land grabbing, land degradation, environmental pollutions and brutalities against locals as some of the ills that mining companies in connivance with some state institutions perpetrate against citizens, a report by an international NGO has said.

And according to the report, “Foreign players have been known to exploit legal loopholes and abuse both human rights as well as the environment.”

Meanwhile, another report, released by a coalition of international and local non-governmental organizations that includes Actionaid International and Christian Aid, and titled “Breaking The Curse,” said African countries rich in mineral resources are losing millions of dollars in revenue that can be used to fund health, education and other social programs because of tax breaks and low royalties that African countries have given to mining companies.

Seven countries were covered in the report, and these are; Ghana, Congo, Malawi, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia.

The report estimates that low royalty rates have or will make Ghana, the second largest producer of minerals to lose $68 million a year in revenue, while South Africa, the continent’s biggest gold producer, is losing up to $359 million a year in revenue, and Tanzania, the continent’s third largest producer, $30 million a year in income.

In Ghana, the basic law governing the mining industry is the Minerals and Mining Act 2006 (Act 703). Under the law, the president holds the power to grant mining rights.

However, the pressure to amend the law and allow farmers to have a say in authorising their lands for mining activity is increasingly gaining favour – and is being seen as a necessary move to crack down on the rampant exploitation of the environment by mining industries.

The two reports suggest amendments to mining laws to take care of communities and countries in which mining take place.

The report on the seven African countries makes the following suggestions: “African mining tax regimes need to be reformed to ensure that African governments are able to collect a fair share of mining rents to fund their national development plans.”

“In some countries this would require an increase in the rates of royalties and other taxes; in others this would require a stop to the practice of negotiating tax breaks for individual companies in secret contracts,” it added.

Drawing comparisons between Ghana and South Africa, the two largest countries with mineral deposits on the continent, the report said, “However, Ghana is still many leagues behind South Africa when it comes to regulations to protect the rights of the locals.”

Adding, “Injustice against the mining communities and lack of proper compensation is an everyday affair that usually passes unnoticed. Indeed, according to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, approximately 30% of Ghana’s land is under concession to mining companies and every year more farmland is converted for this use.”

In the last two decades, more than US$5 billion have been devoted to new mining projects in Ghana, Dr. R. Anthony Hodge, the President of the International Council on Mining and Metals has said.

Dr. Hodge who is a leading authority on sustainable development in mining, said this in an article published on the online version of the Sunday Monitor, a Ugandan publication in January 2009. He argued that “during that time, the national poverty rate has fallen 12 percent.”

He said of Ghana’s 138 districts, its four mining districts have the lowest poverty levels in the country outside the capital, Accra, adding “effective disease control programmes have been a key component of this success.”

The story of the mining industry in Ghana and for that matter Africa has always been a paradoxical mix of profits, poverty and pollutions.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana benefits from $3m Grameen Foundation microfinance, technology programme

Ghana is one of the developing countries to benefit from a Grameen Foundation and JP Morgan initiative for microfinance and technology.

The initiative known as Bankers without Borders (BwB) sends senior working professionals for short-term, fields based or remote skills-based projects that supports microfinance institutions (MFIs) and technology-for-development initiatives.

The Foundation has said in a press statement that the programme will be supported by a three-year, $3 million grant from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation.

It said since the program’s launch, approximately 3,000 professionals from around the world have registered with BwB, and many have supported high priority needs of MFIs or networks on projects in areas such as: portfolio risk management, human capital development, social performance management, and information and communication technology innovations.

According to the statement, volunteers have contributed more than $2.3 million of in-kind service to Grameen Foundation and MFIs in nine countries, including Ghana, Haiti, China, India and Tunisia.

The Grameen Foundation was founded by world renowned economist Dr. Muhammad Yunus, who is also the founder of Grameen Bank. Dr. Yunus is the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.

The Grameen Foundation is a global nonprofit organization, which helps the world’s poorest people access financial services and technology solutions by providing financing, technology support and management strategies to the local organizations that serve them.

Microfinance has been identified as an integral part of the effort to grow Ghana’s economy and as a source that has the capacity to buoy an already vibrant and imaginative informal sector in Ghana.

An economist, Dr. Nii Moi recently observed that the country’s informal sector controls about 80% of the economy.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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World Bank gives Ghana $30m for capacity building for oil and gas industry

Ghana’s nascent oil industry is receiving massive support from the global community including the World Bank before commercial production begins this year.

The World Bank in a programme is giving the country an amount of $30 million for training to build capacity for the industry.

The World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Ishac Diwan revealed this at the end of a video conference with the President of the Bank Robert Zoellick Tuesday February 2, 2010.

Diwan said the Bank was embarking on an “ambitious programme to train Ghanaians in the universities, financial institutions, for taxation and management” to prepare the country to be in a position to manage the oil resources.

Ghana unlike most African countries that have oil did not have the benefit of open and democratic societies, often turning the blessings of oil into an oil curse.

Since the country announced the discovery of oil in commercial quantities in 2007, there have been discussions and debates on the way forward so the country will derive maximum benefits from the oil.

This development has given hope to many observers who believe that the discussions are an opportunity to lead the country to develop a sound plan on how to manage the oil and to avoid the problems that many oil-rich African countries are going through presently.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Mining is risky, creates enclaves – Zoellick

Mining on the African continent has been described as a risky venture creating enclaves that benefit only a small number of people.

The President of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick made these remarks during a video conference with journalists in Africa Tuesday February 2, 2010 after touring some countries on the continent.

Zoellick said even though mining is important, the benefits of the sector do not spread out of a small community. He said mining employs only a small number of people and benefits a small community. He was of the view that mining has to be made to benefit a lot more people than it does now.

He said the Bank is working with African countries within the framework of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) to make mining companies more transparent and beneficial to a greater number of people.

In Ghana, mining has been going on for over 100 years. Gold, diamond, manganese and bauxite are mined in Ghana, but gold is the leading foreign exchange earner for the country.

Ghana is Africa’s second biggest gold miner after South Africa. The country produced nearly 2.5 million ounces of the metal in 2007, when total mining revenues were $1.8 billion.

Gold accounted for more than 95 percent of Ghana’s mineral revenues in 2008.

According to the Ghana Chamber of Mines, cash costs of gold mining companies were $651 per ounce in 2008, and the aggregated realised gold price was $852 per ounce.

While the mining industry in Ghana attracts lots of foreign investment, it also has attracted some of the bitterest criticisms against any industry. Most NGOs and Community Based Organisations (CBO) accuse the industry of failing to pay its due to local communities where mining companies operate. They often cite land grabbing, land degradation, environmental pollutions and brutalities against locals as some of the ills that mining companies in connivance with some state institutions perpetrate against citizens, a report by an international NGO has said.

And according to the report, “Foreign players have been known to exploit legal loopholes and abuse both human rights as well as the environment.”

Meanwhile, another report, released by a coalition of international and local non-governmental organizations that includes Actionaid International and Christian Aid, and titled “Breaking The Curse,” said African countries rich in mineral resources are losing millions of dollars in revenue that can be used to fund health, education and other social programs because of tax breaks and low royalties that African countries have given to mining companies.

Seven countries were covered in the report, and these are; Ghana, Congo, Malawi, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia.

The report estimates that low royalty rates have or will make Ghana, the second largest producer of minerals to lose $68 million a year in revenue, while South Africa, the continent’s biggest gold producer, is losing up to $359 million a year in revenue, and Tanzania, the continent’s third largest producer, $30 million a year in income.

In Ghana, the basic law governing the mining industry is the Minerals and Mining Act 2006 (Act 703). Under the law, the president holds the power to grant mining rights.

However, the pressure to amend the law and allow farmers to have a say in authorising their lands for mining activity is increasingly gaining favour – and is being seen as a necessary move to crack down on the rampant exploitation of the environment by mining industries.

The two reports suggest amendments to mining laws to take care of communities and countries in which mining take place.

The report on the seven African countries makes the following suggestions: “African mining tax regimes need to be reformed to ensure that African governments are able to collect a fair share of mining rents to fund their national development plans.”

“In some countries this would require an increase in the rates of royalties and other taxes; in others this would require a stop to the practice of negotiating tax breaks for individual companies in secret contracts,” it added.

Drawing comparisons between Ghana and South Africa, the two largest countries with mineral deposits on the continent, the report said, “However, Ghana is still many leagues behind South Africa when it comes to regulations to protect the rights of the locals.”

Adding, “Injustice against the mining communities and lack of proper compensation is an everyday affair that usually passes unnoticed. Indeed, according to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, approximately 30% of Ghana’s land is under concession to mining companies and every year more farmland is converted for this use.”

In the last two decades, more than US$5 billion have been devoted to new mining projects in Ghana, Dr. R. Anthony Hodge, the President of the International Council on Mining and Metals has said.

Dr. Hodge who is a leading authority on sustainable development in mining, said this in an article published on the online version of the Sunday Monitor, a Ugandan publication in January 2009. He argued that “during that time, the national poverty rate has fallen 12 percent.”

He said of Ghana’s 138 districts, its four mining districts have the lowest poverty levels in the country outside the capital, Accra, adding “effective disease control programmes have been a key component of this success.”

The story of the mining industry in Ghana and for that matter Africa has always been a paradoxical mix of profits, poverty and pollutions.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

Email: edogbevi@hotmail.com

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Vice President says Ghana has no intention of abrogating Vodafone deal

Vice President John Dramani Mahama on Monday gave the assurance that the government had no intention of abrogating the deal with Vodafone Ghana despite some few concerns expressed about it.

“There had been concerns on the deal, but as a government we are looking forward to streamlining those concerns to pave way for effective connectivity and industrial growth through Information Communication and Technology(ICT).”

The Vice President gave these assurance when a World Bank ICT delegation called on him at the Ghana Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to negotiate for investment in the sector in Ghana.

He said although there were Telecommunication networks in the country, there was the need to consider accepting other companies in the ICT sector to promote competition and quality services.

“We will make sure that Broadband internet services and other areas of ICT become accessible to Ghanaians everywhere and that is why partnership with experts like you is crucial and useful for our development”.

Mr. Mahama said Ghana was positioning herself to become the ICT hub on the entire African continent and called on its partners in that direction to respect their roles and responsibilities towards the achievement of that goal.

“We have prioritized ICT and several projects, by moving the sector from five per cent to almost 50 per cent in a very short time.”

He said the government was poised to promote the egovernance and eImmigration ICT programmes to speed up the development needs of the country and also facilitate the activities of migrants in the country.

Dr. Mohsen A. Khalil, Director of Global and Communication Technologies who led the delegation said they would be happy to be given the opportunity to invest in the Telecommunication sector in Ghana.

He said their main aim was to provide interconnectivity in the West African sub-region to serve as a tool for rapid socio-economic development.

“Currently the communication set ups in most West African countries is not the best and we believe that given the opportunity, we can facilitate the rapid development of the region through ICT.”

Dr. Khalil promised to collaborate with the government of Ghana to make ICT available to all the sectors of the Ghanaian society.

Source: GNA

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Ghana bans telecoms masts, rural coverage may suffer

Ghana’s growing mobile phone industry has been hit by a hitch. A ban has been imposed on any further erection of telecommunications masts or transmission towers and rural areas of the country may suffer, as coverage may not be expanded to reach them.

The Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology (MEST) has banned the mounting of telecommunications masts in the country until further notice.

According to a Daily Graphic report of Monday February 1, 2010 citing a letter dated January 12, 2010 to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says the ban is until further notice.

The letter, the report indicated, also announced the establishment of an inter-sectoral committee comprising personnel from the EPA, the National Communications Authority (NCA), the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) and National Security to produce guidelines that would bring some order in the way communication towers are being erected all over the country.

According to the EPA, the report says, about 50 per cent of all communications masts in the country were erected by service providers who did not obtain the required permit.

Some of the concerns that informed the decision to ban the erection of masts include public outcry against the location of some of these masts, accidents, land disputes and health implications believed to be associated with the masts.

But in a response, the CEO of Kasapa Telecom, Mr. Bob Palitz told ghanabusinessnews.com on the telephone that the action will affect expansion of mobile phone services to rural areas.

He also said it will be difficult for GSM service providers in the cities. They will have problems with coverage when their lines are jammed, they will not be able to expand their services by erecting masts.

Mr. Palitz however, accused the Ministry of Science and Technology for taking a unilateral decision when there is a committee working to resolve the issue of collocation.

Telecommunication masts are a very important part of the mobile phone industry. For a mobile phone to send and receive calls, it must be within range of a transmitting tower or a mast. A mobile phone works just like a radio does: if you are too far from the station’s signal, your radio (or phone) cannot pick up the music (or receive a call). Radio stations, in order to transmit to a larger area erect transmission towers. Mobile phone companies also use transmission towers to relay messages to users at great distances.

There are six mobile phone companies licensed by the NCA to operate in Ghana. These are MTN, Tigo, Vodafone, Kasapa, Zain and Glo, the last to be licensed and yet to start operations.

The ones in operation between them have an estimated 15 million subscribers for a population of approximately 22 million.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Will Ghanaians jubilate after Angola 2010 finals with Egypt?

Last Thursday January 28, 2010 when Ghana beat Nigeria to reach the finals of the African Nations Cup tournament in Angola, the streets of Ghana’s major cities and towns were filled by jubilant Ghanaians including children celebrating the feat.

Will Ghanaians celebrate tonight after the game? When the whistle is blown for the end of the final game of the tournament?

Expectations are high in Ghana for victory as the national team, the Black Stars play the Pharaohs of Egypt in the finals of the 2010 African Nations Cup in Angola.

If Ghana wins, it will be the first time in the last 18 years that the team reached the finals of the continent’s most prestigious competition and won – making it the fifth time for Ghana.

Ghanaians least expected their team to make it to the finals, because the team has been ravaged and depleted by injury. All the key players in the team, Michael Essien, John Paintsil, John Mensah, Captain Stephen Appiah, Laryea Kingston are on the injury list, while Sulley Muntari is on suspension for indiscipline.

With a sheer sense of cautious optimism and hope Coach Milovan Rajevac selected mostly members of Ghana’s under-20 team, the Satellites to build a team to compete in the second most popular football tournament in the world after the world cup. Most of these young and inexperienced players were playing in the African Nations Cup for the first time against more experienced teams.

Apart from Andre Ayew and Agyeman Badu, the others like Agyeman Opoku, Kwadwo Asamoah, Isaac Vorsah and Inkoom were new comers.

To make matters worse for Ghanaians, the team lost its opening match against a well organized, more experienced Ivory Coast team. The team went down by three goals to one.

But the coach and players were hopeful, they reorganized themselves after the loss and in a game against a more matured and improved Burkina Faso, the team braced all the odds and won by a lone goal to keep hope alive and move on to the quarter-finals against highly motivated host team Angola. With the entire country, including their president behind them, the Angolans looked better positioned to beat the Stars, but it didn’t happen. The Stars beat all the odds again to sail into the semi-finals with a one goal win over Angola setting the team up for a clash against their arch-rivals, the Super Eagles of Nigeria.

The Nigerians were intent on revenge as they have lost almost all matches between the two teams in recent history. Not many Ghanaians thought the Stars could beat the Eagles, but yet still they were hopeful.  And the Stars did not disappoint, they beat the Nigerians to sail into the finals crushing all hopes that Nigeria had for revenge.

Set against a more tactical, organized and highly motivated Egyptian side, hoping to win the cup for a historical seventh time, the Stars would be playing probably, their match of the tournament and it would be their match of destiny and Ghanaians are waiting with baited breath, and hope of another jubilation.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Diageo launches Africa Business Reporting Awards 2010

Journalists reporting business across the continent have yet another opportunity to contest for recognition for their efforts to position the African continent on the global map as a viable place to do business in their works.

Diageo, the world’s leading premium drinks company on Tuesday January 26, 2010 launched the Diageo Africa Business Reporting Awards in London.

The annual event which was first started in 2004 is to encourage more prolific business journalism within Africa in a drive to increase the continent’s share of voice in the international media, it said in a press statement copied to ghanabusinessnews.com.

According to the statement this year, the number of categories has been extended with sector-specific categories to reflect the important role that various industries play in economic development.

The Award categories are as follows (entries can be on any platform – online, print, broadcast):

Best ICT feature

A feature or series of related features delivered on any media platform (print, broadcast, online) that examines any aspect of the ICT sector in a thoughtful and engaging way. This might include, but is not limited to, telecommunications infrastructure, mobile, networking, security, cyber crime, e-learning, hardware, software, Internet.

Best Finance feature

A feature or series of related features delivered on any media platform (print, broadcast, online) that examines any aspect of the finance/banking sector in a thoughtful and engaging way. This might include, but is not limited to, investment opportunities, retail banking, credit cards, corporate finance, mobile money, payment systems.

Best Infrastructure feature

A feature or series of related features delivered on any media platform (print, broadcast, online) that examines any aspect of infrastructure (physical or otherwise) in a thoughtful and engaging way. Features addressing issues of energy and transport can enter this category. This might include, but is not limited to, infrastructure development projects, aviation, oil, roads, rail, energy.

Best Agribusiness / Environment feature

A feature or series of related features delivered on any media platform (print, broadcast, online) that examines any aspect of agribusiness or environmental issues in a thoughtful and engaging way. This might include, but is not limited to, climate change, agriculture, food security, water management, farming, resource management.

Best Tourism feature

A feature or series of related features delivered on any media platform (print, broadcast, online) that examines any aspect of the tourism industry in a thoughtful and engaging way. This might include, but is not limited to, hotels, eco-tourism, travel, 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa(tm).

Best use of New Media in a story

A piece developed using new media (online digital photography, blogs, vodcasts, videos, podcasts or a mixture of these) that effectively supports a story about business or the economy in an African context. The topic is open, but use of new media must help deliver a fresh perspective that helps the audience engage with a story in a way not possible through traditional media alone. Entry must include a live URL.

Best Business News story

A news story or series of related stories delivered on any media platform (print, broadcast, online) that:

* Addresses a breaking news story from the time period of the awards

* Answers all basic questions in a clear and balanced fashion

* Demonstrates journalistic flair – a style that is engaging, thought-provoking and accessible to its audience

Best Business Feature story

A feature or series of related features delivered on any media platform (print, broadcast, online) that:

* Examines business or the economy in an African context

*  Provides useful background material for readers to understand relevance

* Gives bigger picture and importance to Africa, as well as specific issues it might be addressing

* Brings the business and economy to life, while answering the serious questions

Best Newcomer

A portfolio of three features (can be across different platforms) by a journalist who has been working as a reporter for less than five years. Proof of first date of accreditation will be required. Judges will be looking for overall quality of reporting, understanding of business issues and personal insights, as well as a commitment to sustained coverage of the business and economic climate in Africa,
which serves to highlight opportunities as well as challenges

Media of the Year

A print publication, broadcast programme/channel , website or blog that is a comprehensive resource for  its audience providing sustained coverage of Africa’s business and economic news, issues and analysis (sector-specific or otherwise). Please submit a portfolio of five articles of no more than 5,000 words each, or five broadcast programmes, of no more than 3 hours in total.

In addition to quality of reporting, balanced perspective, insight and analysis, judges will be looking for style and presentation, as well as outlets that are building a reputation amongst business and investor communities as a valued source of information about Africa.

Journalist of the Year

A portfolio of three features (on any one or a mixture of media platforms) of no more than 5,000 words or 1 hour each. Submitted pieces can cover different topics, industries or people, or be part of a series of reportage.  As well as quality, style, presentation and a way of engaging the audience, judges will be looking for a commitment to sustained coverage of the business and economic climate in Africa which serves to highlight opportunities as well as challenges.

The awards ceremony will be held on July 1, 2010 in Central London.  The closing date for entry is 26 March, 2010.

Journalists covering areas in the categories listed are encouraged to submit entries for the awards.

Interested journalists can download entry forms from this page.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana beats Nigeria 1-0 to sail into Angola 2010 finals

The Ghana Black Stars have beaten the odds of injury, inexperience and young age of their players to beat a more experienced and determined Super Eagles of Nigeria one nil to get to the finals of the African Nations Cup in Angola Thursday January 28, 2010.

Striker Asamoah Gyan headed in the classic lone goal in the 21st minute after ‘Kingmaker’ Kwadwo Asamoah lobbed the ball in from a corner kick.

The Stars held on till half time.

In the second half the Nigerians came in strongly and made inroads into the Ghanaian half but were unable to score.
Soon after the final whistle the country erupted into spontaneous celebration as citizens of all ages marched through streets singing and chanting victory songs.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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National Daily Minimum wage raised from GH¢2.65p to GH¢3.11p

The new National Daily Minimum Wage is GH¢3.11 and it takes effect from February 1, 2010, the National Tripartite Committee (NTC) announced on Monday.

The 17 per cent increment from GH¢2.65 was arrived at after a fruitful deliberations between labour and employers.

This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of a meeting in Accra jointly signed by Mr. Stephen Amoanor Kwao, former Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, Reverend Dr. Joyce Aryee, Vice President of Ghana Employers’ Association and Mr. Kofi Asamoah General Secretary, Ghana Trade Union Congress (GTUC).

It said any establishment, institution or organization whose daily minimum wage was below should be adjusted upward, while with the implication of tax on incomes it was tax exempt and will be the tax-free threshold of the 2010 personal income schedule.

“The tax-free threshold has now increased from GH¢240 to GH¢1,008 per annum,” it said.

The NTC reiterated its commitment to the improvement of incomes and productivity in both the private and public sectors.

Source: GNA

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Nigeria invests over $1 billion in energy to stop companies from moving to Ghana

The Nigerian government has invested over ₦177 billion approximately over one billion dollars in subsidies in the country’s energy sector in the last three years in a bid to boost power supply to keep multinationals from moving out of the country to Ghana.

A report by ThisDay quoted Osun State Governor, prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola as saying that multinational companies are relocating to Ghana because of Nigeria’s current power sector problems.

The administrator of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) also said that despite the subsidies from the government the sector had witnessed no investment for over 20 years prior to 1999.

Nigeria’s power industry equally witnessed weak maintenance and damaged or obsolete equipment, while as at 1999 only 19 out of 79 installed generation units were in operation, the report said.

Nigeria’s perennial power supply problem is phenomenal affecting everyday life and industry, and it is believed to have forced a number of industries in the country to relocate to Ghana, which also has its own power problems, but it’s managed better than the Nigerian situation.

Meanwhile, even though the issue of companies relocating from Nigeria to Ghana has been coming up every now and then, some Nigerians have denied it. They claim it is propaganda by opposition elements and it is not based on facts on the ground.

However, a Ghanaian official of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre has been quoted to have said in Nigeria recently that 60% of all foreign investments in Ghana come form Nigerian busineses.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Tullow says current wrangling in Ghana’s oil sector won’t affect it

Mr. Kofi Essuon, External Affairs Manager of Tullow Oil, said any effort to thwart Ghana’s investment initiatives would harm the economic interest of the country and investors in the oil sector.

He said government would not engage in acts that would create confusion and mistrust in the oil industry, to enable the sector grow.

Mr. Essuon was responding to questions on the current impasse between government and Kosmos Energy, at a forum for journalists at Takoradi on Thursday.

He said though the impasse was disturbing, it would not affect the current operations of Tullow Oil.

Mr. Essuon said that Tullow would not stop the ongoing three-week training for personnel of the oil industry by some service providers but the credibility of such institutions needed to be critically scrutinized to avoid creating problems for the oil companies.

He charged the National Vocational Technical Training Institute, to offer the requisite manpower needs of the oil sector.

Mr. Gayheart E. Mensah, Communications Manager of Tullow Oil, said the floating production and storage facility was likely to arrive in Ghana by June this year to assist in oil exploration at the Jubilee oil fields near West Cape Three Points.

He said the facility, a storage ship about 800 feet long, was presently under construction in Singapore and could store and process over 140,000 barrels of crude oil daily.

Mr. Mensah said the oil deposited about 19,000 below the sea could only be fitted with equipments by remote operated vehicles and such equipment would begin the process soon.

Okyeame Ampadu Agyei, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager of Tullow, said a draft guide of the corporate social responsibility package would be launched soon.

Source: GNA

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Tullow makes another significant oil find in Uganda, after Ghana

UK-based oil and gas explorer which is also operating in Ghana has announced another significant oil find in Uganda, just a day after announcing one more major find in Ghana.

Tullow has said in a press statement Friday January 22, 2010 and copied to ghanabusinessnews.com that “the Kasamene-2 appraisal well, which is located in the Butiaba region of Uganda Block 2, has encountered 39 metres of net oil pay and 8 metres of net gas pay within a 132 metre gross interval.”

According to the statement results of wireline logging, pressure surveys and fluid sampling have confirmed the presence of oil and gas.

“Reservoir quality is excellent and the net pay thickness is the largest encountered in the Butiaba area to date,” it said.

Thursday January 21, 2010, Tullow announced “a significant find” at the Tweneboa-2 well in Ghana.

The statement indicated that the exploratory appraisal well, being drilled some 6 km southeast of the Tweneboa-1 discovery, has intersected a significant combined hydrocarbon column.

Commenting on the Uganda find, Paul McDade, Chief Operating Officer of Tullow in Uganda said: “Encountering the largest net pay thickness in Butiaba to date is an outstanding result, confirming the lateral quality and extent of the Victoria Nile Delta reservoirs and enabling fast-tracked development of the Kasamene field. We continue to work closely with the Government of Uganda on plans for development and look forward to achieving early first oil from the basin.”

Tullow has interests in three licences in the Lake Albert Rift Basin in Uganda. Tullow operates Block 2 with a 100% interest and has a 50% interest in Blocks 1 and 3A which are operated by Heritage Oil (50%), the statement said.

Meanwhile, the Ugandan government says it will block Tullow’s bid for Heritage Oil’s 50% share in Blocks 1 and 3A in the Lake Albert Rift Basin in favour of Eni of Italy.

The government says it is not in favour of a Tullow bid because it did not want it to have monopoly over Uganda’s oil industry.

However, Tullow officials have said they are not looking at monopolizing the oil industry but seeking to bring in more serious and credible partners.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Tullow strikes more oil and gas in Ghana

Tullow Oil today has announced the discovery of more oil and gas in Ghana.

In a press statement copied to ghanabusinessnews.com Thursday January 21, 2010, Tullow says “the Tweneboa-2 exploratory appraisal well, being drilled some 6 km southeast of the Tweneboa-1 discovery, has intersected a significant combined hydrocarbon column.”

“Results of drilling, wireline logs and samples of reservoir fluids establish that Tweneboa is a major oil and gas-condensate field,” the statement said.

According to the statement, a combined hydrocarbon column of at least 350 metres has been established between the lowest known oil in Tweneboa-2 and the top of the gas-condensate at Tweneboa-1, demonstrating this is a highly prospective and extensive turbidite fan system that will be evaluated with additional drilling.

It added that the well has encountered a gross reservoir interval of 153 metres containing 32 metres of net hydrocarbon pay in stacked reservoir
sandstones, comprising a 17 metre oil bearing zone below a 15 metre
gas-condensate bearing zone.

Tullow Oil which is the major stakeholder in Ghana’s largest oil field, which is said to be the largest to be discovered in West Africa in the last 10 to 15 years has 49.95% in the Deepwater Tano licence and is partnered by
Kosmos Energy (18%), Anadarko Petroleum (18%), Sabre Oil & Gas (4.05%) and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) (10% carried interest).

Commercial production of oil in Ghana is expected to begin this year.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana gets GH¢200m DFID grant

The UK Department for International Development (DFID), has provided a 200 million Ghana cedis grant to the Government of Ghana, to support health and education projects, financial management and public sector reforms.

The DFID has also provided 2.5 million Ghana cedis for the implementation of the Livelihood Empowerment Action Programme (LEAP) in the Northern Region.

Mr. Mark Lowcock, Director-General, Country Programmes of the DFID, said these when he led a delegation of the organisation to pay a courtesy call on Mr. Moses Bukari Mabengba, Deputy Northern Regional Minister, in Tamale on Wednesday.

Other memebers of the delegation included, Mr. Graham Gas, Social Development Adviser, Human Development and Accountability Team, and Eric Hawthorn, Country Director of DFID.

The delegation is on a two-day visit to the Northern Region to inspect its funded projects and also interact with beneficiaries of the interventions to find out the impact the projects have had on their lives.

Mr. Lowcock said the DFID was additionally providing 2.5 million Ghana cedis annually over a period of three years to the School for Life, a non-governmental organisation dedicated to supporting the children in the rural areas who had missed out of formal education.

Mr. Lowcock, Director-General of DFID, commended government for initiating programmes to reduce maternal mortality and improve education, including the distribution of free school uniforms to school children.

He also praised Ghanaians for consolidating democracy, saying the peaceful nature of 2008 Election had strengthened the process, which was a show case for African countries.

Mr. Eric Hawthorn, Country Director of DFID, said the organisation was prepared to support the Savanna Accelerated Development Authourity (SADA).

He suggested that SADA should serve as a coordinating agency and collaborate with district assemblies and other development bodies to execute projects instead of (SADA) acting as an implementing agency.

Mr. Graham Gas, Social Development Adviser of DFID, said the organisation would engage in the construction of roads and small-scale irrigation dams to create jobs for the youth in the Northern Region.

Mr. Mabengba thanked DFID for its support for the government of Ghana social intervention programmes that had helped to reduce poverty in the three Northern regions.

He however appealed to DFID to increase the amount it disbursed to people under LEAP programme to enable the beneficiaries to invest in more useful ventures.

Source: GNA

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Revitalised Ghana makes it to quarter-finals of Angola 2010

A revitalized Ghana Black Stars today beat a determined Burkina Faso team that was reduced to 10 men by one goal to nil to advance to the quarter-finals of the Orange African Nations Cup tournament in Angola.

The goal was scored in the 30th minute by Andre Dede Ayew who connected a header from Agyeman-Badu’s cross into the 18-yard box.

The team playing without most of their key players like Michael Essien who got injured, improved their performance as compared to their opening game against Cote d’Ivoire last week in which the Stars were beaten by three goals to one. In that game too the Ivorians were reduced to 10 men.

Ghana will meet hosts Angola on Sunday.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana biometric passport to be launched February 3

Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs will launch the country’s biometric passport on February 3, 2010, the GNA reports.

In preparation towards the launch, the report says, a training session for Regional Immigration Commanders and Information Service Officers on the issuance of the new biometric passports has been held.

Ghana is converting to the biometric passport in compliance with the International Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) deadline for member states to provide their nationals with the new system to facilitate easy movements into member countries of ICAO. The end of 2009 is the deadline for providing the biometric passports to citizens of ICAO member states.

Biometric passports have the following features: holographic foil, watermark paper, invisible and visible foil and digital photographs.

In December 2009, a Slovak company, Innovatrics announced that it was producing the biometric passports for Ghana.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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IRS exceeds 2009 revenue target by 14.4%

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) exceeded its projected revenue of GH¢1,554,542,500 for 2009 by 14.4 per cent.

It realized GH¢1,778,200,390 exceeding the target by about
GH¢223, 657,890, Major Dan Ablorh–Quarcoo (Rtd), Commissioner of IRS, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview on Thursday.

He said the recent introduction of the Rent Tax, drawing 10 per cent tax from rents collected by landlords would boost revenue mobilization this year.

“If the trend continues the revenue gap of 14 per cent would close up to manageable levels. Though the global credit crunch threatened low revenues, 2008 was reasonably a good year for IRS hence the increase,” he said.

Maj. Ablorh-Quarcoo said the projection for 2010 was GH¢2.235 billion and expressed the hope that with the automation of the IRS, the 2010 tax target would be realized.

He said IRS was in partnership with a private company to undertake the automation exercise which is expected to be completed within three years.

“The exercise will help IRS expand the tax net to reach more people,” he added.

Government, Maj. Ablorh-Quarcoo said, had provided enough logistics such cars and other equipment for the success of the programme.

“We expect tax payers to comply with tax laws and cooperate with tax authorities for good relationship between tax payers and tax administrators”.

He commended landlords who voluntarily paid their rent tax and urged others to emulate them.

Maj. Ablorh-Quarcoo said the rent tax operated in Tema, Teshie, Nungua and Legon in 2009 and would be extended to other areas in Accra metropolis this year targeting commercial property and all estates in future.

He appealed to private organisations to fulfil their tax obligations without which the tax burden would be on salary workers alone.

Source: GNA

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Biofuel industry in Ghana endangers agriculture – Study

The biofuel industry in Ghana is in its initial stages, but a study has found that it poses a great threat to the country’s agriculture and food security.

The study which was conducted in Ghana by Carlos Píñar Celestino with logistical support from Intermón Oxfam and funding from the University Carlos III de Madrid in July and August 2009 warns that while the biofuel industry, particularly the cultivation of Jatropha “presents a new opportunity for revitalizing the agrarian activity that can improve living conditions for the rural population, it also presents a threat to food security and fragile land ownership rights.”

Biofuel companies, mostly foreign owned with some Ghanaian partners have been embarking on aggressive land acquisition for the purposes of cultivating some food crops and non-food crops for the production of biofuels and ethanol mostly for export to developed countries.

But inconsistencies in, and the multiplicity of the country’s land laws put smallholder farmers at risk of losing their land to powerful multinationals often with little or no compensation.

The study noted with worry that “biofuels companies are setting themselves up in the north of the country, where land is abundant and cheap and where Ghana’s poverty is concentrated.”

The study also warned that “in this area, an important part of the cereals are produced that feed the country; they are a basic food in Ghana, and scarce. All of these elements create a very sensitive situation that can damage domestic food security and turn a possible victory into a big failure.”

The northern part of the country has not undergone great improvement; 18.5% of its population lives in extreme poverty, and 54% of Ghana’s poor live in the northern region, which only accounts for 17.2% of the total population, according to the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS).

The study also found that the ‘marginal land’ argument is a myth.
According to the study, proponents of biofuels, especially growers of Jatropha put forth the argument that the plant could grow on marginal land or degraded land. This argument they believe is a solution to conflict over land, and the weakening of food security. They also further argue that since marginal lands are not used by anyone, communities would not be displaced.

The author of the study however raises the questions “what is meant by marginal lands? And for whom are the lands marginal?”

“What are often presented as ownerless, unused lands are at times the source of subsistence for the poorest people, and provide them with food, medicine, construction materials, fuel and other resources, aside from being used normally for pasture,” the author argued.

According to the study due to its low value, the marginal land is not often clearly defined, which weakens its users’ rights. This is terrain which is especially important to women, who have restricted access to more fertile land and it is in these lands that they carry out many of their activities, such as gathering fuel.

Meanwhile, the study found that biofuels companies are reluctant to use ‘marginal lands’ because they will only give marginal yields, instead preferring fertile land.

This study further highlights the risk Ghana faces as an agrarian economy. About 70% of all adults in employment in Ghana work in the agric sector and the sector contributes about 45% of GDP. The country fortunately, did not suffer any crisis at the height of the global food crisis which led to riots, deaths and injuries to people in some neighbouring countries like Burkina Faso and Cote d’Ivoire.

The uncontrolled and unregulated development of the biofuels sector, has the potential to negatively affect the country’s food production. There is no specific policy to regulate the biofuels industry in the country.

The country, therefore, has to act and quickly too by formulating policy to regulate the industry to forestall any unforeseen danger with its related social conflicts, so that the biofuels industry will be streamlined for the benefit of investors, local people and the country.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana’s democratic credentials put country up on tourism rankings

Ghana for the first time has been included in the list of developing countries that attract tourists based on ethical values, a new report released by Ethical Traveller has said.

Ghana ranks fourth among the ten developing countries. These are: Argentina, Belize, Chile, Ghana, Lithuania, Namibia, Poland, Seychelles, South Africa and Suriname.

Ethical Traveler’s report, “The World’s Best Ethical Destinations” identifies the 10 countries in the developing world that are best protecting their natural environments, promoting responsible travel, and building a tourism industry which provides real benefits to local communities.

Ethical Traveler is a project of the Earth Island Institute, based in San Francisco. The  organization has experts with a  broad range of  expertise in the fields of travel,  environment, economy, health and world policy, it says on its website.

According to the report, Ghana joins the 2010 list due to an impressive commitment to genuine democracy, as well as a growing culture of sustainability, environmental consciousness and grassroots efforts towards responsibly improving Ghana for Ghanaians and tourists alike.

Ghana is the third most important tourist destination in West Africa, according to Luigi Cabrini.

Mr. Cabrini, who is Director, Sustainable Development of Tourism of the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) said these when he addressed stakeholders in the tourism sector in Ghana.
He said Ghana comes third after Nigeria and Senegal in the sub-region in terms of international arrivals, the GNA has reported.

According to Mr. Cabrini, international tourist arrivals for 2007 was 587,000 whiles tourism receipts for the same year amounted to $908 million with an average annual growth rate between 2000–2007 pegged at 5.7 percent.

Ghana’s Minister of Tourism has also said that the sector is the fourth highest foreign exchange earner for Ghana, and the country earned a total of $1.3 billion in 2008.

According to a B&FT report, projected tourists arrivals for 2008 was pegged at 698,069 with receipts in monetary value amounting to US$1.2 million, as against 586,612 arrivals in 2007 amounting to US$1.17 million.

This, the newspaper said, reflects a consistent increase in tourism revenue over the years.

In 2005 the country earned US$836 million from tourism.

The income generated from these arrivals grew at an even stronger rate, 11.2% annually for the same period, hitting US$680 million in 2005.

The hospitality industry, particularly hotels, had the largest chunk of the revenue ­taking up 34 percent of the expended income, while the transportation and food sectors had 11 percent each with the entertainment industry enjoying eight per cent, it said.

Domestic tourism last year saw a total of 417,558 arrivals to the country, comprising 303,668 residents visiting 25 tourist sites and 113, 890 non-residents patronising domestic tourism.

The figures indicate that Ghana has not yet hit the intended one million tourists target ­earmarked in 2007 to coincide with the country’s Golden Jubilee celebrations and the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery, since Ghana boasts of many landmark castles and sites used in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.

The target was developed to make tourism the leading sector of the economy through foreign exchange earnings and employment creation.

Currently, tourism is one of the fastest growing sector in the economy and is expected to grow at an average rate of 4.1 % per annum over the next two decades.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Educated Ghanaians look for jobs outside – Report

A growing number of educated Ghanaians are leaving the country in search of jobs in other lands, an International Organisation for Migration (IOM) report has found out.

The Ghana migration profile which was released Friday January 8, 2009 said trained Ghanaians are seeking jobs outside the country because of lack of employment opportunities for young people and “the decline of Nigeria as a major destination for Ghanaians.”

The report which covers 10 West African countries found that although 71% of Ghanaian migrants stay in West Africa, a growing number of Ghanaians are now to be found outside the region. Ghanaian migrants, according to the report can be found in 33 countries worldwide.

The United States and the United Kingdom are the two most important destination countries for Ghanaians outside of West Africa. The US has 7.3% and  the UK has 5.9% of Ghanaian migrants.

Ghana has the highest emigration rates of 46% for highly skilled people in West Africa.

This trend the report found is detrimental to the country’s education and health sector, but more especially so, for the health sector. It is estimated that more than 56% of doctors and 24% of nurses trained in Ghana are now working abroad. In education, more than 60% of faculty positions at polytechnics and 40% at public universities are vacant.

The report noted that a lack of career development and poor working conditions are the main drivers of skilled emigration and although the government has introduced measures to improve pay for health professionals, income differentials with western countries are too large to compete. One study in 2004 found that wage differentials between nurses in Ghana and counterparts in Canada and Australia were 14 times as much. For doctors, they were 25 times as much.

The profile, however found a positive impact of growing emigration on the country. The report described as dramatic the increase in official remittance flows to Ghana.

It indicated that the Bank of Ghana estimates that remittances increased from US476 million in 1999 to US$ 1.9 billion in 2008. However, the economic crisis has taken its toll with the Bank reporting a 7.3 per cent decrease in remittances in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008.

Nevertheless, the report recommends the need to create and maintain links with a diaspora estimated to range from anywhere between 1.5 million to 3 million Ghanaians in order to tap into their potential and to benefit from skills transfer, investment opportunities and remittances.

The report also found that Ghana has become a destination choice for most West Africans because of the country’s stable democracy and peace.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Kosmos Energy under investigation for corruption in Ghana

Texas-based oil and gas exploration company, Kosmos Energy, which is also one of the stakeholders in Ghana’s largest oil field, the Jubilee oil field is being investigated for corruption by US and Ghanaian officials the Financial Times (FT) reports.

According to the report, the authorities are looking into allegations of a relationship involving Kosmos and its local partner EO that helped the US oil company to secure control of the Jubilee oil field.

The case, the FT says risks complicating efforts by Kosmos Energy to sell its stake in the Jubilee oil field to another Texas-based US oil company, ExxonMobil in a deal valued at $4 billion. Kosmos has however denied any wrongdoing.

EO is a company owned by two political allies of former president John Agyekum Kufuor who handed over power to current president John Atta Mills after the elections of 2008.

Citing people close to the case, the FT says Ghana is preparing to file criminal charges against EO. The US justice department is also understood to be probing the relationship between EO and Kosmos, although the department on Thursday declined to confirm or deny this, it added.

A California-based lawyer working for the Ghanaian investigation, Duke Amaniampong told the FT that Ghana’s attorney-general had accumulated “enough evidence of criminal culpability to bring charges against the EO group and its directors”.

The charges would include “causing a financial loss to the state, money laundering and making false declarations to public agencies”, a person in the attorney-general’s office told the FT.

Ghanaian officials believe EO used its links with government officials to secure favourable deals for itself in the country’s nascent oil industry, but they have denied this saying they have conducted all their activities lawfully.

EO was set up by a Houston-based businessman, George Owusu, who was Kosmos’s representative in Accra and Kwame Bawuah Edusei, a doctor and supporter of Mr Kufuor who was later appointed as ambassador to Washington.

The group has a 3.5 per cent stake in the offshore oil block where Kosmos first found commercial quantities of oil in 2007. EO, whose stake could be worth more than $200m, initiated the deal which brought Kosmos into Ghana three years earlier, the FT said.

Kosmos had put up for sale its stake in the Jubilee oil field, said to contain about 1.8 billion barrels of oil according to Tullow Oil the majority stakeholders. It also has 17 wells. It is the largest oil field to be found in West Africa in the last 10 to 15 years. Commercial production of oil in the field is expected to begin this year.

A sale agreement between Kosmos Energy and ExxonMobil in October was halted by the Ghanaian government which has since indicated its interest in buying the stake.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana has double taxation agreements with six other countries

Ghana has double taxation agreements (DTAs) with six other countries apart from Switzerland.

The Swiss Embassy in Accra issued a press statement Tuesday January 5, 2010 and copied to ghanabusinessnews.com in which it announced the coming into force of the agreement between Ghana and Switzerland on January 1, 2010.

The agreement between Ghana and Switzerland was signed in July 2008 and ratified by the parliaments of the two countries in 2009.

Ghana has signed similar agreements with the following six countries; France, UK, Belgium, Italy, Germany and South Africa, according to information on the website of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC).

Ghana uses the instrumentality of DTAs to rationalize the tax obligations of investors who come from global tax sourced jurisdictions with a view to saving the affected investors from the incidence of double taxation by both their home governments and the host country, the GIPC says.

Ghana is committed to entering into DTAs with interested countries with the ultimate objective of freeing investment capital and thereby securing the investment capital from being eroded by the effects of taxation, it adds.

The DTAs save investors in the participating countries money, because they are not liable to pay taxes in both countries. For instance, if a Swiss investor who invests directly into Ghana pays taxes in Switzerland, he is not liable to pay taxes on the same investment in Ghana.

According to the statement from the Swiss Embassy, the agreement will protect investors from the two countries from double taxation on income, wealth and capital gains.

Specifically, Swiss direct investment in Ghana and Ghanaian direct investments in Switzerland will be encouraged and withholding tax on dividends, interest, licence royalties and service fees will be limited, it added.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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US FBI in Ghana, country admits bomber stayed for two weeks

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have arrived in Ghana to probe the stay in the country of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the 23-year-old Nigerian accused of attempting to blow up a US airliner, the AFP has reported.

The deputy Minister of Information, James Agyenim-Boateng, was quoted by the AFP as saying “the investigation will allow the FBI agents to gather more information on the suspect’s stay in Ghana.”

Mr. Agyenim-Boateng did not however say when the FBI agents arrived in Ghana and how long they will stay.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal (WJS) says officials in Ghana have said that the Nigerian had been in Ghana and had lived in the country for two weeks before he attempted the act of bombing the Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas Day.

Mr. Samuel Okudzeto-Ablakwa, also a deputy Minister of Information told the WSJ that Ghanaian officials did not know how Abdulmutallab spent his time or who he was with while in the country.

Ghanaian officials however criticized U.S. and U.K. officials for not sharing information about Mr. Abdulmutallab before his arrival in Ghana.

The Ghanaian government said Mr. Abdulmutallab arrived in Accra on December 9, earlier than was previously believed. He stayed for just over two weeks before flying to Lagos to board his flight to Amsterdam, where he connected to another Detroit-bound flight that he attempted to attack with explosives sewn into his underpants.

Mr. Okudzeto-Ablakwa told the WSJ that Mr. Abdulmutallab arrived at 3:20 a.m. on December 9, on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Dubai via Addis Ababa. As a citizen of the West African economic bloc Ecowas, Mr. Abdulmutallab is allowed to stay in Ghana for up to 90 days without a visa.

He was processed without any problems because the Ghanaian government had not been alerted about a possible threat from Mr. Abdulmutallab, Mr. Okudzeto-Ablakwa said. Mr. Abdulmutallab’s father had alerted U.S. and Nigerian authorities to his concern about his son’s growing extremism, and British officials, in May 2009, denied Mr. Abdulmutallab a student visa to re-enter that country, where he had graduated from university in 2008.

“What we have concerns about has been the lack of sharing information,” he said. “We had been working closely with American and British partners, our global partners, but nobody at any point in time shared information about any such Abdulmutallab. When the incident happened it came as a surprise to all of us.”

According to the government, Mr. Abdulmutallab wrote on his immigration form that he would be staying at the Holiday Inn in Accra, but checked into another hotel in town. Mr. Okudzeto-Ablakwa declined to name the hotel, saying that the government was concerned about harming its business. He said security officials had spoken with the hotel management and people in the area, but that so far they had not turned up anything that suggested possible criminal activity.

During his stay in Accra, Mr. Abdulmutallab kept a low profile, Mr. Okudzeto-Ablakwa said. “So far we have not had any indication that he engaged with people generally,” he said. “He wasn’t seen walking around. He appeared to have kept a rather quiet and private life. So far we have not stumbled on who he met with, or whether he met with anybody.”

Ghanaian officials confirmed an earlier statement from Nigerian officials that Mr. Abdulmutallab had purchased his ticket to the U.S. in cash at a KLM office. At some point, he also purchased a one-way ticket in cash from Accra to Lagos, Mr. Okudzeto-Ablakwa said.

After 13 days in Accra, he boarded Virgin Nigeria flight 804 from Accra to Lagos on December 24, which departed at 5:06 p.m. “He filled the immigration forms on the flight,” he said. “I have all those on the form before me so I know he was on the flight.” He said the Ghanaian officials were trying to discern why Mr. Abdulmutallab chose to return to Lagos rather than fly to the U.S. from Ghana, the report said.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Can Ghanaians hope in country’s oil?

At Agbogbloshie market in Accra, Ghana’s capital, Rose Kamina struggles to sell T-shirts in the stifling heat. “Business is small-small,” says the 22-year-old wearily. “This year we could only afford fowl for Christmas.” Then, unexpectedly, her face brightens a little. “But maybe next year we will buy a goat.”

As Ghana prepares to pump oil in the second half of 2010, hopes are rising, both among hard-pressed market traders at home and in the far-flung diaspora, where Ghanaians are quitting jobs in American banks to head back to an optimistic homeland. Oil was found off Ghana’s coast in 2007 and, even without further discoveries, is now expected to earn an average of $1.2 billion in annual state revenues for almost two decades. For a country with 23m people and a GDP of $16 billion, it could be a big boost—or a crippling blight.

Perky economic growth, a decent human-rights record and two consecutive changes of government by the ballot box have made Ghana one of the past decade’s success stories in Africa. In 2009 it won the accolade of being sub-Saharan Africa’s only country to be visited by Barack Obama as president. Yet some people worry that it could slip back into its corrupt and violent ways once the oil begins to flow: witness other countries in the region, such as huge Nigeria and tiny Equatorial Guinea, where cliques of “big men” have stolen stacks of bounteous oil money while most of the people have been left to live in poverty. This is the curse of black gold.

Ghana still has a good chance of getting it right. Unlike many of its neighbours, Ghana has struck oil under democracy. Its officials entrusted with drawing up legislation have been scrutinising oil-revenue laws from Norway to Trinidad and Timor-Leste. A draft bill proposes that part of the oil money should go directly into the national budget, with the rest split between a “stabilisation fund” to support the budget if oil prices drop and a “heritage fund” to be spent only when the oil starts to run out. Putting the money into ring-fenced funds should prevent a free-for-all among politicians and the corruption that could ensue.

But there are countervailing pressures. President John Atta Mills, who took office a year ago after a tense election won by less than half a percentage point, inherited a fiscal deficit of 14.5%, almost two-thirds more than the previous year’s. The former ruling party, it transpired, had embarked on a pre-election spending spree to woo voters. Because of Ghana’s recent record of good management, donors have helped out: the World Bank tripled direct assistance in 2009 and the IMF has agreed to lend $600m over three years. But Mr Mills has still had to cut spending, with a partial freeze on hiring in the public sector, the biggest employer. And the opposition says the government is creating mistrust by spending too much time weeding out civil servants close to the previous administration rather than preparing for petroleum.

None of this is endearing Mr Mills to the electorate. After an austere year the government may yet be tempted to blow its early oil revenues on restoring popularity. That would set a dangerous precedent; it would also be a lot easier if the government was not restricted by laws to stop it. For all the fine talk of heritage funds, the oil bills are behind schedule; none has yet been put to Parliament. “If you get the revenues before the laws, it will be very grey,” warns Moses Asaga, a member of the ruling National Democratic Congress who chairs Parliament’s energy and mining subcommittee. “Everybody will be struggling for the money.”

So decisions taken this year will strongly affect Ghana’s future. With proven reserves of just 1.2 billion barrels of crude (against Nigeria’s 36 billion), Ghana’s windfall may last only a generation. As Joe Amoako-Tuffour, a senior official working on the oil laws, puts it: “We must decide how many of these eggs to eat today and how many to keep and hatch into chickens. But we are a poor country and we are hungry. The temptation is to eat now.”

Source: The Economist

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Ghana, China trade hits over $189m in 2009

Trade between Ghana and China has reached over $189.395 million as at the end of October 2009 according to official statistics published in the Chinese media.

China has not hidden its interest in Ghana in particular and Africa in general. Indeed, bilateral relations between Ghana and China became stronger during the First Republic when Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was President of Ghana.

In the first half of 2009, China invested about $552 million directly in Africa raising China’s direct investment in Africa to 81% from the same period in 2008.

And trade between Ghana and China has grown over the years. In 2005 trade between the two countries was $769 million.

Trade between the two countries has blossomed over the years, with China benefitting most.

Ghana’s exports to China totalled only $25 million with imports of $93 million in the year 2000. Exports grew to $32 million in 2003 with imports of $180 million. In 2006, the figure went up to $39 million for exports while imports surged to $504 million.

China recently gave Ghana some undisclosed financial support to be used to develop infrastructure for the country’s nascent oil industry.

On Wednesday December 30, 2009 China granted Ghana two concessional financial facilities totalling 100 million Chinese yuan, approximately $14.65 million.

And on the same day the first batch of an 11-member Chinese medical team arrived in Ghana for a two-year medical mission.

The six-member medical team, which includes experts in cardiology, anesthesiology, neurology and urology, is the first batch of the 11-member medical team. Its members were selected from hospitals in Guangzhou, capital of the southern Chinese province of Guangdong.

China has also offered to rebuild Ghana’s Foreign Affairs offices after it was razed down last year.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Facebook is most popular site in Africa – Report

The social networking site, Facebook has taken the lead as the most popular website visited in Africa, according to a report by Opera.

According to the report Facebook is the most popular site visited by Opera Mini users in six of the 10 African countries covered in the report published December 22, 2009 and it is second in three of the countries where it is not number one.

The report also indicated that Google is very popular in these countries and ahead of Facebook in a few of the top 10 countries.

The top 10 countries using Opera Mini in Africa are (in order): South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, Ghana, Libya, Ivory Coast, Zambia, Tanzania and Namibia.

Nokia and Sony Ericsson handsets are extremely popular in Africa, but Samsung is a significant exception, boasting the most popular phone used by Opera Mini users in South Africa, Zambia and Namibia, the report said.

According to available statistics there are over 10 million Africans on Facebook as at November 3, 2009. Facebook currently has over 300 million users worldwide.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Chinese companies top FDI list in Ghana

Chinese companies top the list of companies registered in terms of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Ghana, the CEO of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) has said.

Mr. George Aboagye said the FDI component of the estimated value of the companies registered during the period under review was GH¢339.32 million while the local currency component amounted to GH¢24.88 million.

Speaking at a press conference in Accra, he said while Chinese companies record the highest number of companies in the country, South African companies top the list of countries with the largest value of investments in Ghana in 2009.

He said the GIPC during the third quarter of this year registered a total of 81 new companies with a combined value of GH¢374.15 million compared to 83 new companies in the second quarter which were valued at GH¢156.34 million.

Mr Aboagye said the figure for the third quarter represented a significant jump, inching closer to Ghana’s annual projected estimates of GH¢400 million, yet to be realised.

China has not hidden its growing interest in Africa in general and Ghana in particular.

In the first half of 2009, China invested about $552 million directly in Africa raising China’s direct investment in Africa to 81% from the same period in 2008.

And trade between Ghana and China has grown over the years. In 2005 trade between the two countries was $769 million.

Trade between the two countries has blossomed over the years, with China benefitting most.

Ghana’s exports to China totalled only $25 million with imports of $93 million in the year 2000. Exports grew to $32 million in 2003 with imports of $180 million. In 2006, the figure went up to $39 million for exports while imports surged to $504 million.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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AngloGold Ashanti closes deal with IFC in mine purchase

AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., has closed a transaction with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group for the purchase of up to half of the IFC’s stake in Société d’Exploitation des Mines d’or de Sadiola (SEMOS) which owns the Sadiola Gold Mine in Mali.

In a press statement issued Tuesday December 29, 2009 and copied to ghanabusinessnews.com, AngloGold Ashanti said the other half of the IFC’s interest in SEMOS has been acquired by IAMGOLD Corporation on the same material terms and conditions.

The statement indicated that the transaction follows IAMGOLD’s announcement on November 2, 2009 whereby it offered to acquire the IFC’s entire interest in SEMOS and is as a result of both parties following the pre-emptive rights process in accordance with the SEMOS shareholders agreement.

The consideration for each 3% stake is US$6 million upfront followed by contingent payments during 2010, 2011 and 2012 for:  US$0.25 million for each year in which the average gold price exceeds US$900/oz or US$0.5 million for each year in which the average gold price exceeds US$1000/oz and US$0.5 million upon approval by the board of directors of SEMOS and the Republic of Mali to proceed with the development of the Sadiola Deep Sulphide Project or a public announcement by AngloGold Ashanti to proceed, the statement said.

In addition, AngloGold Ashanti and IAMGOLD have extended an offer to the Republic of Mali to take up its proportionate entitlement of 19.15% of the 6% sale interest, by acquiring an equal 0.574% interest in SEMOS from each of them on terms proportionately identical to those set out above, on or before 31 March 2010, it added.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Fruit juice factory begins production

The Wa Fruit Juice Factory, a joint venture between the Wa Municipal Assembly and Ieper city in Belgium, has hit the market with its products, following the acquisition of the necessary permits from the relevant government agencies.

The factory is extracting and packaging juices from mango and other available local fruits for the market. This would address the problem of post harvest losses and also generate employment for the youth and income for fruit farmers.

Addressing the last ordinary meeting of the Assembly for this year on Thursday, Mr Duogu Yakubu, the Municipal Chief Executive said the Assembly was expected by Ieper city to secure the site where the factory was located by fencing the structure and also provide the facility with a bore hole to sustain production.

He called on the management board of the factory to work out a sale strategy and present it to the manager of the factory for implementation.

He said Ieper city also intends to improve sanitation services delivery in the Municipality, through the establishment of a factory, to convert plastic waste materials into rubber products.

Mr Yakubu announced that, health services delivery in the Municipality had been given a big boost by the construction of five clinics in the Municipality, by the Municipal directorate of the Ghana Health Service.

The clinics have been sited at Kanbali, Dobile, Piisi, Wa central market and the Wa community centre.

Mr Mahmud Khalid, Upper West Regional Minister noted that, the services of Zoom Lion was not being fully utilized in the Municipality, and called on the Assembly to work out a way of making use of the company.

He urged the Assembly to take another look at the planning of the Wa township and come out with a proper layout, which should create room for roads, water and sanitation service, schools and recreational facilities and also ensure that all the streets had names.

He observed that the way the cities and towns in the country were planned, it would be highly impossible for the navigator system to operate well in this country.

Source: GNA

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Minister warns against frequent oil, gas workshops

Mr Paul Evans Aidoo, the Western Regional Minister, on Wednesday expressed concern about the organization of workshops on oil and gas in the Metropolis under the pretext of helping the youth to secure the sector.

“The youth have been anxious to have jobs with the oil companies and some people are organizing workshops and courses, which they know may not earn them job in the industry,” he said.

Mr Aidoo was speaking at a press soiree organised by the Western Regional Coordinating Council in the region at Sekondi.

He appealed to the media to earnestly check the backgrounds of workshops’ organisers before any promotion was done for them.

“This is not to censor anybody but it is a plea to ensure that our people do not fall prey to these scams,” Mr Aidoo said.

He noted that the anxiety and expectation of citizens especially the youth on the oil and gas have reached a dazzling height.

Therefore, Mr Aidoo urged media personnel to inform and educate the youth to look elsewhere for employment since there was very little probability that the oil companies would employ them.

Mr Aidoo said the youth could earn a living through food crop production, aquaculture and other allied services.

“I believe the media should lead the crusade to educate people to concentrate on what they know best, be it cultivation, animal husbandry, food crops among others”, he said.

Mr Aidoo said as media men, your function must transcend political, ethical or religious boundaries to dutifully inform, educate and entertain.

He urged the media to always put the interest of the region and the nation first adding “it does no good to rush to your microphones or printing houses when the story is either not well researched and has the propensity to incite the public to be at each other’s throat with the intent of getting a scoop”.

Mr George Amihere Naykene, the western Regional Chairman of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), called on the media to build capacity for the oil and gas sector.

The media, he said, must expose charlatans, who organises two-three weeks workshop, on oil and gas to assist the youth gain employment in the sector.

“Check if these organisers are accredited before you take their advertisement”, he said.

Source: GNA

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Ghana farmers call for more taxes on imported rice

Farmer groups in the country have urged government to impose more tariffs on imported rice as a policy tool to support and step up local production.

They argued that funds generated from the taxes could be channeled to support local farmers to increase production.

Speaking at a stakeholders forum on the rice industry in Accra, Mr Ibrahim Akalibila, National Co-ordinator of Ghana Trades and Livelihoods Coalition, said it was high time Ghana learnt from other countries, which had successfully used tariffs to spur the growth of sensitive sectors of their economy.

He said the biggest challenge to improving the rice sector was lack of adequate funds to invest, arguing that resources generated from the imposition of tariffs could be directed to the development of the sector.

“When tariffs are used appropriately to invest in the growth of a sector, there may be gains in a country’s economic welfare,” he said.

The day’s forum on the rice value chain organised by the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) was to discuss the proposed rice development strategy with a view to making inputs into it to enhance the sector.

Mr Akalbila said tariffs serve as the best opportunity for the country to mobilise funds for investment into expanding rice protection and agriculture in general.

Currently, demand for rice stands at some 600,000 metric tons, but the country is only able to meet 30 per cent.

It is estimated that on average every Ghanaian consumes some 38kg of rice per annum and this is expected to increase to 63.0kg by 2015.

Mr. Akalibila noted that in Ghana, tariff revenue is about 20 per cent of total tax revenue, and said rice tariffs would improve the balance of payments, generate employment, improve food security and improve economic welfare.

The President of PFAG, Mr Mohammed Nashiru Adams, commended government for its commitment to improving rice production but said the challenges in the sector needed to be resolved more quickly to avoid plunging the country into disaster.

He lauded the development of a Rice Sector Development Strategy and expressed the hope that it would establish the framework within which to achieve national aspirations in rice production.

Mr Baba Adongo of TechnoServe, a non-governmental organisation said factors like lack of irrigation and processing facilities, poor extension services, among other things continue to be major challenges to farmers in the sector.

Mr. Adongo said given the right incentive the farmers could produce quality rice that would compete with any imported brand.

Mr. Edward T. Kareweh, Deputy General Secretary of General Agricultural Workers Union, said trough commitments made by the country under the Economic Partnership Agreements with the European Union, it would be difficult imposing more tariffs on rice.

In this direction, he said the country should rather focus on increasing local production.

Mr. Twum Ankrah of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture said the intention of government under the National Rice Development Strategy was to cut rice import by half by 2018, adding that the Ministry was doing everything possible to make this happen.

Source: GNA

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Tullow Oil announces more oil find in Ghana’s Jubilee field

Tullow Oil, the majority stakeholder in Ghana’s Jubilee oil field, which is also the largest oil field to be discovered in West Africa in the last 10 to 15 years has announced the discovery of more oil in the field.

A press statement from London-based Tullow Oil and copied to ghanabusinessnews.com, Wednesday December 23, 2009 says the Mahogany Deep-2 appraisal well offshore Ghana confirmed the down-dip extent of the main Jubilee reservoirs in the West Cape Three Points Block and intersected two new light oil accumulations.

Good quality reservoirs were encountered in the Mahogany Deep section but were water bearing at this location, it added.

According to the statement, the  Mahogany Deep-2, drilled 3 km from Mahogany-3, is the furthest down-dip Jubilee well in the West Cape Three Points licence.

Results of drilling, wireline logging and samples of reservoir fluid indicate that the well has encountered good quality hydrocarbon-bearing reservoir sandstones in three zones. An interval of 12 metres net pay has proved an extension of the main Jubilee reservoirs. In addition, a new shallower accumulation, with 2 metres net pay, was encountered and supports exploration prospectivity in undrilled areas to the south and east, the statement said.

“Confirming the southerly extent of the main Jubilee reservoirs and encountering two new oil pools takes us another step closer to realising the full potential of the Greater Jubilee Area. Results from the current exploratory appraisal campaign are being integrated to define the resource base and the future phases of development beyond first oil in the fourth quarter of 2010.

We also look forward to continued exploration and appraisal success in Ghana an throughout the Equatorial Atlantic region where Tullow has built a commanding acreage position. We are currently drilling the potentially high-impact Tweneboa-2 appraisal well and expect to report on its result in February,” Angus McCoss, Exploration Director of Tullow Oil was quoted as saying in the statement.

Tullow has a 22.896% interest in the West Cape Three Points licence and its partners are Kosmos Energy (Operator) and a subsidiary of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, (30.875% each), the E.O. Group (3.5%), Sabre Oil & Gas (1.854%) and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) (10% carried interest).

Ghana announced the discovery of oil in commercial quantity in 2007. The Jubilee oil field according to Tullow has 1.8 billion barrels of oil and has 17 wells.
Under Phase One of the Jubilee Field project 120,000 barrels of oil and 120,000 million standard cubic feet of dry gas per day would be produced in 2010.

Production would be increased to 240,000 barrels of oil and 240,000 million standard cubic feet of gas per day under the second phase of the Jubilee Field project which is expected to commence in 2013.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Indian company proposes power plant in Ghana, but ministry says won’t accept

The intentions of an India power producing company to build a power plant in Ghana in exchange for liquid natural gas won’t take off as the Ministry of Energy tells ghanabusinessnews.com that it won’t accept the proposal.

The company, NTPC, which is India’s largest power company, says it has proposed to set up a power project in Ghana in exchange for liquid natural gas.

According to the company,  the project is in initial stages of discussion and it is ready to build a gas based or coal based plant depending upon the availability of the type of fuel.

The NTPC says in return for building the power plant for Ghana, it expects to receive 2.5 million tonnes per annum of liquid natural gas for 25 years.

The Deputy Minister of Energy, Dr. Kwabena Donkor told ghanabusinessnews.com on the phone that the country has received about 20 to 30 proposals from companies in China and India, adding that the NTPC’s mention of gas in exchange for the project “won’t fly” he said.

“Government is encouraging independent power producers, because government does not want to get into power production as a policy,” he said.

“This project won’t fly with the mention of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) because of our own conservation agenda,” Dr. Donkor told ghanabusinessnews.com.

The deputy minister said, even if the Volta River Authority (VRA) comes up with the idea of building a power plant, the government will not allow that, “because of the VRA’s financial situation.”

Phone calls to NTPC, were however not answered as at the time we were publishing.

Energy supply is one of the major challenges to Ghana’s economy.

The country has been experiencing power shortages for some time now. The country’s only hydropower plant at Akosombo is facing perennial water shortages which is affecting  power supply, occasionally plunging the entire country into darkness.

The country has constructed a thermal plant in Takoradi to supplement its power supply needs and there is an ongoing project to build another 400 MW hydropower plant at the Bui dam in the Brong Ahafo region, but a lot more needs to be done to meet the power supply requirements that would bolster economic growth.

And since Ghana discovered oil in 2007, the country has become key to major global players in the oil and gas industry. It is no wonder that power generating companies are also showing interest in the country’s nascent oil and gas industry.

Under Phase One of the Jubilee Field project which is the largest oil field to be discovered in West Africa in the last 10 to 15 years, 120,000 barrels of oil and 120,000 million standard cubic feet of dry gas per day would be produced in 2010.

Production would be increased to 240,000 barrels of oil and 240,000 million standard cubic feet of gas per day under the second phase of the Jubilee Field project which is expected to commence in 2013.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana could earn $2b from salt export – Experts

Ghana could earn up to $2 billion annually exporting salt to neighbouring countries in West Africa, particularly Nigeria, the region’s leading economy which currently buys $2.3 billion worth of salt yearly from Brazil and Australia, experts have said.

Although Ghana has great potential for industrial salt production, it has remained largely untapped. With oil expected to become the country’s second leading revenue earner in 2012, analysts say the salt industry could serve to further complement gold, cocoa and oil as one of the country’s major sources of revenue in future.

While the commercial exploration of oil next year is expected to significantly grow local demand for salt in the country, experts have warned against the likelihood of further neglecting the salt industry in Ghana because of the present emphasis on oil.

“The whole attention of government right now is on oil. That ordinarily should serve well for the salt industry if we have considerably developed the sector, but that unfortunately is not the case now.

“So we are going to see a situation where we are going to be spending millions of dollars importing salt when the oil industry gets fully functional when we have lots of salt in our domain,” stated a former finance minister in a chat with BusinessDay in Accra.

The minister who served under the President John Kufuor administration, said the former administration identified the salt industry as one of the key industries for development but was not able to actualise its vision for it. “We just couldn’t actualise our broad vision for the industry. The expectation is that with the coming of oil that vision will be actualized,” said the former minister.

Ghana has the production potential of 2.5 million metric tonnes of salt annually but currently produces only 50,000 metric tonnes, which is worth an estimated $3 million.

According to George Aboagye, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), a major China investment in the salt industry is expected soon.

Mr Aboagye said some Chinese investors are looking at establishing a large salt production base in the country.

The Chinese salt project is expected to span a vast stretch of the Kpone-Ada-Keta area, that’s the Eastern part of the southern belt of the country, but Aboagye believes that with-technology, China could expand the project to parts of the country stretching to the Western coastline. The project, which could take between two and three years, according to the GIPC, would not overcrowd local producers but rather complement their efforts since they could serve as feeder producers.

A two-man delegation from the Great Salt Lake City of Utah, USA, who were in the country five years ago at the invitation of the Ministry of Mines, and the Minerals Commission to study and provide expert advice on large-scale investment in the salt industry in Ghana, enjoined the government to, among other things, develop infrastructure in some of the salt-rich regions of the country as a way of attracting investors.

Source: BusinessDay

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Ghanaians said to spend 10.3% of income on alcohol

Records at the Ghana statistical Service indicate that Ghanaians spend about 10.3 per cent of their annual income on alcohol and tobacco.

But when it came to food and other beverages, they spent 4.5 per cent of their income.

Dr. Kofi Awusabo-Asare, a Professor at the Department of Population and Health of the University of Cape Coast (UCC), made these known when he presented a paper on the topic “Population, Development, Health and Evangelisation” at a public lecture organized by the Spiritan University College (SUC) at Ejisu in Ashanti.

He said only 3.9 per cent of the total income of the country was spent on production of goods and services, which to him had been the main reason for the high poverty rate in the country.

Prof. Awusabo-Asare said that as at 2006, Upper West Region was leading the poverty indices in the country with 79 per cent of its population being extremely poor.

He entreated the religious leaders in the country to encourage their members to cultivate the habit of saving for future occurrences instead of spending them on alcohol and tobacco and other non-profit ventures.

He said the time had come for churches to focus on business training of their members to help reduce the crime rate among the youth in the country.

He stated that about 450 to 550 women out of every 10,000 pregnant women died each year from pregnancy related issues and attributed the tragedy to economic hardship and poor health care delivery in the country.

He said it would be better for the religious bodies and the government to intensify education on the spread of sexually transmitted diseases since 50 per cent of females at the age of 18 and males at the age of 20 would have had their first sexual encounter which to him was worrying for national development.

Prof. Awusabo-Asare advised the youth in the country to take interest in education because that was the only way for them to become useful to the nation in future.

Source: GNA

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Ghana’s producer price inflation rises to 19.3% in November

The producer price inflation rate for Ghana rose to 19.3% in November, 2009, according to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).

The rise, which is the highest for 2009 is as a result of the increasing cost of doing business in the mining sector, Mr. Ebow Duncan of the GSS said at a press conference in Accra Friday. He said the rate rose from a revised 15.3% in October.

Mining and quarrying costs, with a weighting of 14% in the overall index, increased 4.1% in the month, the statistics agency said. Manufacturing, which makes up 70% of the index, went up to 1.2%.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana gets $450m budgetary support from donors

Ghana’s budget for the year 2010 has received a boost from donors.

At a press conference Friday December 18, 2009 in Accra, the Multi-Donor Budget Support (MDBS), a partnership between Ghana and 11 Development Partners (DPs) announced a budgetary support of $450 million that will go directly to support the country’s development programme.

Announcing the disbursement, Mr. Martin Saladin, Co-chair of the MDBS, who is also the Chancellor of the Swiss Embassy in Ghana said the funds will go directly to the 2010 national budget of Ghana and support the government’s overall programme in achieving its developmental objectives.

Mr. Saladin indicated that the DPs are pleased with the overall satisfactory progress in the implementation of the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy II (GPRS II) and “in the achievements as laid out in the Performance Assessment Framework (PAF).

He also said in line with the key principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the Accra Declaration for Action, the DPs “are committing to align their aid to Ghana’s development priorities as determined by the government and in a harmonized manner.”

The first tranche of this disbursement is expected by the first half of 2010 and the balance is payable by mid-year.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana’s deficit to narrow to 8.4% in 2010 – EIU

The London-based Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) has forecast that Ghana’s deficit will narrow to 8.4% in 2010 before the country starts to earn income from oil production due to begin in June 2010.

The EIU in its Country Report on Ghana for 2009 also says Ghana’s economic policy environment will remain challenging in 2010, even though the global economic environment is expected to improve slowly after the recession in 2009.

According to the report the recent decision by the government to accept financial assistance from the IMF and the World Bank is indicative of the challenges that the government sees ahead.

For their part, the Bretton Woods institutions are looking for renewed efforts to improve fiscal discipline and re-establish macroeconomic stability after a period of high inflation and growing external imbalances.

In return, the government will receive a large, US$300m financing package in 2009 from the World Bank, with the possibility of a further US$900m. The IMF has agreed to provide over US$600m over the next three years, it said.

Despite the additional financing, the report said, there will be some difficult decisions to be made, especially as the government has discovered that the preceding NPP administration ran up arrears and made spending commitments that the current government was unaware of and that will now have to be factored into the 2010 and 2011 budgets.

The government is well aware that fiscal policy management needs to improve and is likely to comply with donor demands, bar the occasional slippage. Donors are likely to overlook minor lapses, especially as many of the economic difficulties in which the country currently finds itself are attributable to exogenous factors, as well as to mistakes made by the former NPP government.

The report indicated that the economic policy during the forecast period will focus on improving the management of public expenditure, increasing revenue collection, developing the business environment and extending credit and support for the private sector.

Click here to download full report

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Noble Mineral looking for investors in $1.6b Ghana gold mine

An Australian mining company, Noble Mineral Resources is seeking investors to join it co-own a gold mining company in Ghana, according to the Business Times of Malaysia.

The mine located in Bibiani is estimated have about $1.6 billion of gold reserve.

According to the report however, any interested investor must first subscribe to Noble Mineral Resources Ltd’s private placement of up to 150 million shares, or a 45 per cent stake in the company, at 40 US cents each. This is expected to boost the company’s paid-up shares to 309 million units.

The money the report says will be used to kick start the Central African Gold Ghana Ltd (CAGGL), which operates the gold mine in Bibiani.

A recent report by ghanabusinessnews.com indicated that Noble Mineral Resources has entered the gold mining sector in Ghana by taking on a $60 million debt owed by Central African Gold Ghana Ltd. (CAGG).

The report indicated that Noble is acquiring the miner from Investec Bank Ltd., in exchange for taking on the debt.

Gold is Ghana’s major foreign exchange earner. According to the Bank of Ghana Gold exports for 2009 at the end of October amounted to US$ 2.1 billion compared with US$1.9 billion for the corresponding period of 2008, an annual growth of 6.3 percent.

And according to the Ghana Chamber of Mines, mining companies paid over GH¢179 million to government in 2008, representing more than 14 per cent of the country’s total internal revenue collection. Mining companies also paid about GH¢73 million representing three per cent of mineral revenue as taxes, levies and duties on the product to government as well as margins to the oil marketing companies.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghanabusinessnews.com is officially launched!!!

“Ghana’s Premier Business News Portal”— ghanabusinessnews.com— was launched on December 15, 2009 at the International Press Center, in Accra, Ghana. The two hour event was a heartwarming success that saw important figures in the media terrain like Ms. Adjoa Yeboah-Afari, Mr. Affail Monney present.

Giving his opening remarks, the chairman for the event, Prof. K. Oduro-Afriyie, emphasized the need to see the internet revolution first, as an innovation which can help, in no small measure, towards Africa’s and for that matter Ghana’s efforts in attaining political, economic and social progress, and secondly  as a reason to turn to God and accept him.

In his keynote address, Mr. Affail Monney, Vice President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), stressed on the supremacy of journalism, especially on-line journalism, in an emergent democracy like Ghana’s. He said aside exposing corrupt public office holders—a problem that has been on the increase in most West African countries and in Ghana—it can help to put Ghana on the international front for a satisfactory participation in the rapidly globalizing world.

Furthermore he was of the view that social ills like the rising “Sakawa” phenomenon, which involves swindling unsuspecting people of their monies and possessions through the Internet, or face-to-face interactions, could be exposed.

The Online Managing Editor, Mr. Emmanuel K. Dogbevi, speaking on the theme for the occasion, “Online Journalism: Putting Ghana On the global platform” said that  “at ghanabusinessnews.com, our goal is to practice journalism of the best quality that can match international standards”.

He added that starting a business in Ghana, especially media business, is not easy which he described as being similar to “fighting in a war”. He was appalled with the bottlenecks in the system as far as getting simple information from officials of state institutions, was concerned.

Mr.  Dogbevi was unhappy at the present state of the media terrain in Ghana, adding that the price paid by journalism martyrs like John Kuglenu and Tommy Thompson made it highly unacceptable for charlatans who pose as journalists, to drag the image of the profession in the mud.

He was optimistic about the future of online journalism in Ghana, but particularly about the future of ghanabusinessnews.com. He revealed that when the words “Ghana business news” was googled , out of 24.5 million results, ghanabussinessnews.com appears as the first two pages.

Also present at the occasion was the Communications Specialists of the World Bank, Mr. Kofi Tsikata, who expressed satisfaction with Mr. Dogbevi’s journalism efforts.

Ms. Ajoa Yeboah-Afari, Chairperson of the Editors Forum, Ghana did the official launch.

The World Bank, Voltic Water Limited and Accra Brewery Limited sponsored the event.

By George Nyavor

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IT Services to provide 45,000 jobs in Ghana by 2011 – Iddrisu

Government is to harness the economic potential of Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) to create 45,000 jobs to reduce the unemployment situation in the country by 2011, Mr. Haruna Iddrisu, Minister of Communication said on Saturday.

He said that the growth of ITES has the potential to rake in additional 750 million dollars by the same year, in the form of revenue with a multiplier effect on the economy leading to higher investment, increased job creation, and improvement of quality of life.

Mr. Iddrisu disclosed this in a speech read on his behalf by Mr. Alhassan Umar, Director of ITES Secretariat, at a dinner organized by Rakes Company Limited (RCL) in Accra.

RCL is a private company that outsources business operations to a third party company and organization, to manage within a designated period of time.

The company currently manages nearly 150 staff of MTN, the multinational telecommunication service provider.

Mr. Haruna Iddrisu said that government had tasked the Secretariat to assist in the development of a strong and vibrant private sector in the information and technology industry to enable Ghana attain its socio-economic agenda.

“As part of government strategy, several programmes are being implemented under the eGhana project to make the country the preferred destination of ITES-Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) Companies on the continent,” he said.

Mr. Robert Sam, Managing Director of RCL said that the contributions made by the telecommunication industry to mainstream the development agenda of the country could not be overemphasized.

“The responsibility rests upon us to explore innovative ways of harnessing the economic potential of Information, Communication and Technology to improve the socio-economic development of the country,” he said.

Mr. Sam called on institutions and stakeholders to take advantage of outsourcing facilities offered by the RCL stressing that it saved time, money as well as relived the human resource of companies, any shortage that might hit them.

“Outsourcing provides the company the ability to concentrate on the core business instead of getting distracted by additional matters,” he said.

He appealed to government to give special incentives such as ‘tax holidays’ and to subsidise the energy sector and other production inputs in order to reduce cost and encourage wealth creation and even distribution in the country.

Source: GNA

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Ghana crop scientists develop weather tolerant maize varieties

The Crop Research Institute (CRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) would release four new drought-tolerant maize varieties early 2010 to support farmers cope with unexpected changes in the weather.

Director of the Institute, Dr. Hans Adu-Dapaah says a holistic approach to mitigate the effects of climate change should include accurate access to weather information and other technologies to help farmers.

He was speaking to Luv FM on climate adaptation and mitigation for local farmers as world leaders seek a treaty on climate change at the UN summit in Copenhagen.

The socio-economic impact of climate change on the agric sector include decline in crop yields and production, which increases the risk of food insecurity and hunger.

According to Dr. Adu-Dapaah, various crop varieties have been developed to help farmers mitigate the impact of unexpected changes in the weather. He says “all our breeding programmes are aimed at developing early-maturing crop varieties – maize, cowpea, groundnut, soybean as well as cassava, yam and rice. Normal maize would take about 120 days to mature but we’ve come out with varieties that will mature between 85 and 100 days”.

He however says access to agricultural technologies would need to be up-scaled. “Some of these technologies and varieties that we’ve developed need to get to the farmers and it will take the intervention of government through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to resource extension staff”, Dr. Adu-Dapaah noted.

The crop scientist is also advocating the establishment of well-equipped weather stations in the districts for farming communities to access meteorological information. He observed “there are very few meteorological stations in Ghana, so I don’t fault them but government should be able to afford if we are to mitigate the effects of climate change. Every district capital should have a weather station to be able to inform farmers as to when to plant and when not to plant”.

Dr. Adu-Dapaah called for the enforcement of policy on bush burning as well as the promotion of integrated crop management practices for local farmers to minimize damage to the soil and environment.

By Kofi Adu Domfeh

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Ghana banks asked to support oil and gas sector

Mr. Fiifi Kwetey, a Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, on Friday called on the country’s financial institutions prepare in earnest to support the emerging oil and gas sector.

He said government was working to ensure the oil find would serve as a catalyst for the accelerated growth of the manufacturing and other sectors of the economy.

Mr Kwetey who was commissioning the Tema Main Office of Ecobank housed in a multi-purpose building in the harbour city, said banks would be need strong capital base to survive in their new role.

“It is in this regard that we believe that the Central Bank’s iup scaling of the capital base of banks is very timely, as this will put the industry on a strong pedestal to catapult the development of the Oil and Gas Industry.”

The Deputy Finance Minister said apart from a strong capital base to support the sector, the banking industry would also need a low interest rate in order to provide meaningful financial packages to the sector.

He pointed out that with the capital intensive nature of the oil and gas sector, a high interest rate regime would be a dis-incentive to private sector players in the Oil and Gas sector who would want to access credit from the banking sector.

Mr. Kwetey charged banks to complement government’s effort at fiscal consolidation to ensure stable and low interest rate regime, by reducing their lending rates.

He further charged financial institutions to build capacity in the area of Oil and Gas financing.

“As an emerging industry, banks will need to ensure that they fully understand the Oil and Gas business to appreciate the industry dynamics and risks to effectively finance the sector.”

He commended  Ecobank for its giant strides in the banking industry, and said  by virtue of its affiliation to other Ecobank Affiliates operating in Oil producing countries, the bank would be expected to tap into the experience of Nigeria and other oil-producing countries to build capacity in oil and gas financing for the Ghanaian sector.

The Deputy Finance Minister assured banks of government’s continued commitment to ensure macro-economic stability through a coherent and disciplined fiscal and monetary framework in which fiscal and monetary policies worked in a mutually supporting way.

Mr. Millison Narh, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, said it would continue to ensure that the financial sector worked within a strong regulatory and supervisory framework.

Mr. Narh intimated that the state-of-the-art Collateral Registry established by the Bank of Ghana under the Borrowers and Lenders Act 2008 (Act 773), where charged and collaterals created by borrowers could be registered,  would soon be operational.

The Bank, he further disclosed, was collaborating with the Ministry of Finance to, under the Anti-Money Laundering Act, establish the Financial Intelligence Centre to help prevent abuse of Ghana’s financial system by money launderers, in order to preserve the country’s strong reputation.

Mr. Samuel Adjei, Managing Director of Ecobank, pledged that the bank would continue to be pro-active in the banking industry by coming out with innovative financial products and services to meet the growing needs of individuals and businesses.

Mr. Adjei recounted that over the last five years, Ecobank had expanded its branch network in the country from seven in 2004 to the current number of 51.

Mr. Samuel Hiram Yaro, Tema Main Branch Manager of Ecobank, said with the commissioning, the branch would be operating services like the Ecobank Rapid Transfer, whereby through electronics, customers could access funds or remit funds in any of its branches firmed in 29 countries on the African Continent.

According to him, it would also operate the Junior Savings Account in which parents would be encouraged to open accounts for their children, in addition to inculcating wealth creation and savings in the children.

Source: GNA

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Newmont looks to invest about $1b in new Ghana mine

One of the world’s largest gold mining companies and America’s largest gold producer, Newmont Mining Corporation is contemplating the development of a second mine in Ghana estimated to cost between $700 million to $1 billion, reports quoting its Regional Senior Vice President for Africa, Jeff Huspeni have said.

The mine to be developed is situated in Akyem in the Eastern region of Ghana.

The Bloomberg news service citing information on Newmont’s website said the Akyem mine has proven and probable gold reserves of 7.66 million ounces of ore.

Newmont, the report says is looking for reliable electricity supply for the mine.

According to Huspeni, chronic electricity supply shortages in 2006 and 2007 hindered the operations of mining companies in Ghana. He indicated that four companies operating in the country, including Newmont, together purchased an 80-megawatt power generator in 2007 to overcome the shortages.

Newmont began operations in Ghana in 2006 with its Ahafo mine in the northwest Brong Ahafo region. Ahafo’s output rose 15 percent in 2008 to 524,000 ounces, the Ghana Chamber of Mines said in February.

In the last two decades, more than US$5 billion have been devoted to new mining projects in Ghana, according to Dr. R. Anthony Hodge, the President of the International Council on Mining and Metals.

Dr. Hodge who is a leading authority on sustainable development in mining, said this in an article published on the online version of the Sunday Monitor, a Ugandan publication in January 2009. He argued that “during that time, the national poverty rate has fallen 12 percent.”

Gold is Ghana’s major foreign exchange earner. According to the Bank of Ghana Gold exports for 2009 at the end of October amounted to US$ 2.1 billion compared with US$1.9 billion for the corresponding period of 2008, an annual growth of 6.3 percent.

And according to the Ghana Chamber of Mines, mining companies paid over GH¢179 million to government in 2008, representing more than 14 per cent of the country’s total internal revenue collection. Mining companies also paid about GH¢73 million representing three per cent of mineral revenue as taxes, levies and duties on the product to government as well as margins to the oil marketing companies.

Ghana is base to some of the world’s leading gold producers like Gold Fields, AngloGold Ashanti and Newmont Gold.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Slovak company Innovatrics to produce biometric passports for Ghana

A Slovak company Innovatrics is producing biometric passports for Ghana late this year, the company has said in a press statement.

By adopting the biometric passports, Ghana will be meeting the International Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) deadline for member states to provide their nationals with the new system to facilitate easy movements into member countries of ICAO. The end of 2009 is the deadline for providing the biometric passports to citizens of ICAO member states.

Innovatrics is the industry leader in biometric technology, which has the capability to read, analyze, store, and assess the biometric agents installed in the passport.

Remarking on Ghana’s choice of Innovatrics, Charles Boakye, Project Manager, Ghana Passport Issuance Project said “before settling on Innovatrics, we sampled a number of world class AFIS systems.”

“We selected ExpressID AFIS because it provides the fastest search speed with incredibly high accuracy and compatibility with many fingerprint scanners. They already had MS.Net .dlls which are extremely straightforward to understand and use. I must say for customer support, they are genuine partners you can always rely on,” he said.

The Ghanaian Times in May 2009 cited McArios Akanbeanab Akanbong, the acting Director, Legal and Consular Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a report saying Ghana will from April 2010 issue its citizens with biometric passports.

A biometric passport is the most modern travelling document which has features like electronic chip into which has been processed, the thumbprint of holders and kept at a biometric Centre soon to be established in Accra, the report said.

“No middleman can acquire a biometric passport for anyone because with this system, the applicant has to be available for his or her thumbprint to be taken for data and identification purposes before the passport is issued,” he was quoted in the report.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Ghana, STX Group of South Korea agree on $10b housing deal: Update

The government of Ghana, the South Korean government and STX Group of South Korea have signed a deal for a $10 billion housing deal. Information emailed to ghanabusinessnews.com from South Korea Wednesday has confirmed that the deal was signed Tuesday December 8, 2009.  The Minister of Works and Housing, Albert Abongo signed on behalf of Ghana.

Earlier, the Bloomberg news carried a story which said the government of Ghana has agreed with a South Korean company, STX Group to build units of housing in the country in a deal worth $10 billion.

The report citing the South Korean Land Ministry said South Korea is seeking to win more construction contracts from sub-Sahara Africa, which accounted for 2.4 percent of orders by value as of the end of November.

At the time ghanabusinessnews.com published the story on Tuesday, Ghana government officials have not confirmed the deal, the Deputy Minister of Works and Housing, Dr. Hannah Bissiw told ghanabusinessnews.com by telephone that while she is not aware of the details of the agreement, she is aware that a government delegation is currently in South Korea “to discuss among other things a housing deal.”

The Reuters news service has however reported that the project involves the building of 200,000 homes in Ghana by 2015, funded by the government and a state-run bank in the country which was not named, quoting a spokesman at STX Group, a business group led by STX Corp.

STX Group is a shipping to construction conglomerate.

The information sent to ghanabusinessnews.com says, the project will begin from 2010 to 2014 and will include 200,000 units of housing and 300 luxury town houses.

The project according to the information, will be undertaken in all the ten regions of the country.

Ghana’s Ministry of Works, Housing and Water Resources will take charge of 90,000 houses and the rest will be sold.

It also said the project will be  a private, public partnership. The Ghana government will provide land and tax exemption for equipment and building materials. STX Group will provide the $10 billion fund and duties  and 30% of its workforce will be Ghanaian.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Works and Housing, Albert Abongo recently told the Ghanaian media that the government will construct 100,000 housing units over the next eight years through public-private partnerships as part of its efforts to meet rising housing demand in the country.

He also said, the government is determined to continue with the affordable housing programme that was started in 2006 to make housing accessible to the low and middle-income groups in the country.

Ghana is reported to have a housing deficit of about one million. While the country’s real estate sector is flourishing, estate developers have been cited for targeting affluent citizens and Ghanaians living abroad and therefore, do not cater for the housing needs of low income citizens.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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278 million barrels of oil expected in first phase of Jubilee oil fields

The first phase of oil drilling in the Jubilee Fields is expected to yield about 278 million barrels of oil, an official of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), said on Monday.

“The Phase One development of the Jubilee Field is based on a conservative recoverable reserve of about 278 million barrels,” Mr. Michael Aryeetey, a Senior Geologist at GNPC, said at the opening of a two-day All Africa Energy Summit in Accra.

He said the first phase involved the drilling of up to 17 wells, out of which nine would be oil producers, six to inject water into the reservoir and two wells for gas injection.

Ghana discovered oil in commercial quantities in 2007 and initial appraisal indicates that there are at least 600 million barrels of light crude oil to be drilled, but according to Mr. Aryeetey, the recent appraisal indicates that there are 800 million barrels of light crude oil, with an upside potential of about two billion barrels.

First oil is expected in the fourth quarter of 2010 and Mr. Aryeetey said preparations were on course to meet the set target.

“The Jubilee Field will be developed in Phase One via a Floating, Production, Storage and Off-take vessel and other sub sea equipment, which are currently under construction at the Jurong Shipyard in Singapore and due to be completed ahead of schedule,” Mr. Aryeetey said.

He said GNPC and its partners had also adopted a system of batch drilling to increase efficiency, speed up drilling and reduce well cost.

Mr. Aryeetey said government had also adopted a strategy to prevent gas flaring during the production of crude oil, saying that GNPC was implementing a natural gas transmission and processing project in that respect.

He said $250 million initial investment was needed to make the project succeed, saying that GNPC was currently looking for a 50 per cent equity partner for the project.

Mr. Aryeetey said the project would include trunk lines to transport wet gas to onshore processing plants and pipelines to evacuate dry gas to power plants offshore, and natural gas liquids such as LPG and condensate, would also be available for domestic use and for export.

He noted that in order to ensure responsible crude oil production, government had assigned a team of experts in the oil industry to develop a master plan for the petroleum sector.

This, Mr. Aryeetey said, was to ensure good governance in the oil sector, and proper application of accruing revenues to benefit the immediate communities and the entire country.

He said there were incentive packages for companies, which would create linkages with local partners and/or train local people to participate in the oil industry.

The summit is being attended by about 100 participants including representatives of oil and gas companies in Africa, policy makers and non-government organizations.

Source: GNA

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As Ghana celebrates Farmers’ Day – Food security should be focus

Today is National Farmers’ Day – a day set aside by government to honour the nation’s hardworking farmers, especially those who have made significant contributions to improve the country’s agric sector and improve food production.

Notwithstanding the relentless efforts of the country’s farmers, it appears that the issues at the heart of agriculture and food production continue to elude policy makers under successive governments.

Since 1988, the first Friday in December has been set aside by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to present certificates and awards to notable farmers. But after this grand event, not much happens in specific efforts to further enhance agriculture in the country, except the usual lip-service. Authorities in the sector however, are quick to say that the day is not set aside to make merry and present prizes, but to articulate key policies relevant to the agric sector. Furthermore, they say it is a day to reflect on the sector’s performance, but not much can be said about all the “reflection” and “key policy articulation”.

Ghana fortunately appears to have survived the global food crisis that hit most countries. Even West African neighbours, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo and Burkina experienced unrests which in some cases lead to the loss of some lives and injury to some.

In all these, nothing significantly untoward happened in Ghana as a result of the crisis.

Meanwhile, Ghana relies heavily on agriculture. Agriculture employs most of all working adults in the country. Currently, agriculture contributes about 60% of the nation’s workforce and it accounts for about 45% of gross domestic product (GDP) and 35% of export earnings.

However, after 25 years of “honouring hardworking farmers”, agriculture in the country has not attained the prestigious position it ought to looking at its contribution to national wealth and sustenance. The teething problems of agriculture still persist.

The sector still suffers over-dependence on small-scale farming and the use of rudimentary tools. Smallholder farmers can’t access credit, training, technology and market for their products as infrastructure has not expanded to adequately cater for the needs of farmers.

Farmers still complain that their produce get rotten either because the road to the market was inaccessible or they could not get buyers on time.

Application of technology to increase yield and ensure sustenance looks like a far away occurrence.

There have been some efforts though to try to address these problem, but not much has been achieved as Ghana’s farmers continue to depend on the rains, which has become erratic of late as a result of climate change.

Just as the existing challenges are mounting, another one has just reared its head – the biofuels challenge. There is evidence that in Ghana arable agriculture land is being annexed by wealthy and powerful multi-nationals for the production of sugar cane, food crops and non-food crops like Jatropha for the production of biofuels.

Most small holder farmers who have fallen victim to this development have not received compensation nor help from anywhere. They have simply been left to their fate.

The importance of agriculture to the development of the county cannot be over-emphasized. The inter-dependence of agric and industry in facilitating economic development should be the focus of authorities in the sector. This is because agriculture provides raw materials required to feed industries, and industries have the capacity to provide machinery, agro-chemical and irrigation facilities as inputs for farmers.

When agriculture and industry are in this healthy interdependence the nation can then secure employment for the ever-increasing unemployed youth, and food security can be assured.

Sadly, only 30% of the 500,000 tons of rice consumed by Ghanaians is produced locally, while 350,000 tons is imported at a cost of about $600 million to the nation.

This country needs to look past the presentation of certificates and prizes, no matter how expensive, as an ‘honourable’ way to acknowledge its farmers’ contribution to national development. Because agriculture may be Ghana’s best bet to a wealthy, healthy and peaceful county.

On this occasion, ghanabusinessnews.com wishes Ghana’s great farmers a Happy Farmers’ Day.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi & George Nyavor

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Canadian gold miner Kinross to buy assets in Ghana

Canadian mining company Kinross Gold Corporation says it has its radar on Ghana as the company seeks to buy assets around the world, the Reuters news service has reported.

Reuters citing the CEO Tye Burt said the miner intends to buy assets in North and South America, Russia and Ghana. The company he said will stay out of riskier countries such as China, even though, the country is the world’s top gold producer.

He was also quoted as saying, “Venezuela, China, Indonesia, PNG (Papua New Guinea), countries where we see too much political risk, too much security risk.”

In the last two decades, more than US$5 billion have been devoted to new mining projects in Ghana, according to Dr. R. Anthony Hodge, the President of the International Council on Mining and Metals.

Dr. Hodge who is a leading authority on sustainable development in mining, said this in an article published on the online version of the Sunday Monitor, a Ugandan publication in January 2009. He argued that “during that time, the national poverty rate has fallen 12 percent.”

Gold is Ghana’s major foreign exchange earner. According to the Bank of Ghana Gold exports for 2009 at the end of October amounted to US$ 2.1 billion compared with US$1.9 billion for the corresponding period of 2008, an annual growth of 6.3 percent.

And according to the Ghana Chamber of Mines, mining companies paid over GH¢179 million to government in 2008, representing more than 14 per cent of the country’s total internal revenue collection. Mining companies also paid about GH¢73 million representing three per cent of mineral revenue as taxes, levies and duties on the product to government as well as margins to the oil marketing companies.

Ghana is base to some of the world’s leading gold producers like Gold Fields, AngloGold Ashanti and Newmont Gold.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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VRA keeps mute over multi-million dollar substation deal

The Volta River Authority (VRA) has given a multi-million dollar contract to an Indian company, KEC International to construct a substation in the Ashanti region, but enquiries about the deal by ghanabusinessnews.com has not been answered for about a week now.

The Mumbai-based KEC International has however, confirmed the deal for the about $8m 161 kV substation and its MD & CEO, Mr. Ramesh Chandak, has described it as “a breakthrough for the company in the West Africa region in the Substation segment,” on the company’s website.

It took a phone call to India and an email in less than five hours to get a further response from the company signed by R. Kalyanasundar, Divisional Manager – Marketing & Business Development, International Projects of the company.

In his response to ghanabusinessnews.com, he said, “we have received an order for 161 kV substation from the Volta River Authority. The substation will be constructed in Kumasi.”

“Further, we wish to inform you that in addition to a 34.5 kV Rural Electrification works carried out by us few years back we are now executing a 330 kV Single Circuit Transmission Line work between  Aboadze to Volta, which is nearing completion,” he added.

In seeking confirmation of the project from the VRA, we called the Public Relations unit and were specifically told our enquiries will only be answered if we showed up physically. We therefore sent a reporter who was asked to submit a written questionnaire on an official letterhead. We subsequently obliged with a letter dated November 23, 2009.

Our letter contained the following four questions for which we were seeking clarification:

1. We have information that the VRA has given a contract to an Indian company, KEC International to construct a 161 Kv substation in Kumasi.

2. We would want to know when the contract was signed, who signed on behalf of VRA and who signed on behalf of KEC International.

3. We also want to know what the contract sum is and what the source of funding is.

4. Finally, we would want to know what the construction of the substation means to Ghana’s energy situation.

Following the submission of the letter we received a call from the VRA offices in Akuse promising to get back to us, but as at today December 1, 2009, we have not heard anything from the VRA.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Perseus to invest $160m in gold mining in Ghana

Australian gold miner, Perseus Mining will invest $160 million to mine the precious mineral in Ghana, the Managing Director, Mark Calderwood has told ghanabusinessnews.com on phone from his base in Western Australia.

Part of the investment capital is a bank loan facility of $85 million and the rest will be from equity finance.

He told ghanabusinessnews.com that the venture at Ayanfuri in Ghana is Perseus Mining’s first gold mining venture in the country and for that matter Africa.

Calderwood said the motivation to enter the gold mining sector in Ghana is informed by the country’s strong democratic credentials.

“It is also because of the high potential of the project, 200,000 ounces of gold and the strong price of gold,” he said.

Adding that the prospects of Ghana for gold is also a reason for the investment, saying the Ayanfuri project “is the most important project for the company in Africa.”

Even though the company has been in Ghana since 1995, it has only now began operations, and Calderwood said it was due to the difficulties familiar with entering the gold mining sector without elaborating.

In the last two decades, more than US$5 billion have been devoted to new mining projects in Ghana, according to Dr. R. Anthony Hodge, the President of the International Council on Mining and Metals.

Dr. Hodge who is a leading authority on sustainable development in mining, said this in an article published on the online version of the Sunday Monitor, a Ugandan publication in January 2009. He argued that “during that time, the national poverty rate has fallen 12 percent.”

Gold is Ghana’s major foreign exchange earner. According to the Bank of Ghana Gold exports for 2009 at the end of October amounted to US$ 2.1 billion compared with US$1.9 billion for the corresponding period of 2008, an annual growth of 6.3 percent.

And according to the Ghana Chamber of Mines, mining companies paid over GH¢179 million to government in 2008, representing more than 14 per cent of the country’s total internal revenue collection. Mining companies also paid about GH¢73 million representing three per cent of mineral revenue as taxes, levies and duties on the product to government as well as margins to the oil marketing companies.

Ghana is base to some of the world’s leading gold producers like Gold Fields, AngloGold Ashanti and Newmont Gold.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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BP said to battle ExxonMobil over Ghana’s Jubilee oil field

The largest oil field discovered in West Africa in the last 10 to 15 years, the Jubilee oil field located in the Western region of Ghana is increasingly becoming a battle ground for the world’s major oil and gas industry players.

The field became a centre of interest when one of the stakeholders, closely guarded oil and gas company, Texas-based Kosmos Energy decided to sell its stake in the field.

Several global oil companies have shown interest in buying the stake, but none has succeeded yet in their bid.

According to a report by Timesonline of the UK, the British energy giant and the third largest oil and gas company in the world BP is set to begin an intense battle with US oil giant ExxonMobil over the field.

In October 2009, Kosmos Energy announced a deal to sell its stake to ExxonMobil for $4 billion, but the deal could not be realized because the Ghana government has to approve it, but it did not, instead Ghana chose to buy the stake. The decision effectively jettisoned ExxonMobil’s chance of buying the stake even though Kosmos Energy officials said they had signed a binding agreement with ExxonMobil.

Before the deal was announced though, several other global oil industry players have declared interest in buying the field; these are Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Chevron Corp., Italy’s Eni SpA, and India’s Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC). The China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) also declared interest in the field. There were even indications that the Ghana government favoured a China deal.

The Timesonline report is suggesting a battle between ExxonMobil and BP will intensify this month ahead of a key January deadline.

ExxonMobil the report said has argued that the sale agreement it had with Kosmos is legally binding and is thought to be considering taking Ghana to court if it refuses to approve the deal.

According to the report, it is understood that ExxonMobil’s purchase agreement lapses in January and if it is allowed to expire it could pave the way for BP’s rival bid.

BP is waiting for the row between the government and ExxonMobil to be resolved before reopening talks with the Ghanaians, it added.

Meanwhile, the GNPC says it had been in talks with Kosmos to buy the stake before the ExxonMobil deal. It now says it has secured the necessarily funding from a consortium of banks to buy the stake.

Tullow Oil, a UK oil company has a 38% stake in the Jubilee oil field which it says contains about 1.8 billion barrels of oil and has 17 wells. Commercial production of oil is expected to start in June 2010.

Dr Kwabena Donkor, Deputy Minister of Energy had said that under Phase One of the Jubilee Field project, 120,000 barrels of oil and 120,000 million standard cubic feet of dry gas per day would be produced in 2010.

Production would be increased to 240,000 barrels of oil and 240,000 million standard cubic feet of gas per day under the second phase of the Jubilee Field project which is expected to commence in 2013.

According to him, “the appraisals so far conducted indicate that the Jubilee Field contains expected recoverable reserves of about 800 million barrels of light crude, with an upside potential of about three billion barrels”.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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