GRi Press Review 20 – 06 - 2003
‘ECOWAS speaker invited me’– Kofi
Asante
Answering a question to that effect at a forum organised by the
Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) in
The forum, which was dubbed the “World Bank Country Assistance
Strategy/Civil Society Consultation Forum”, was attended by prominent
economists, educationists, members of civil society groups, among others.
The minister of finance after imposing additional import taxes on rice
and poultry products in the 2003 budget statement, later announced the
withdrawal of those taxes, a move many have accused the World Bank of
pressurising the government to accede to.
Earlier in his presentation, Karlson called on
the government to shore up gain through macro-economic stability, secure the
financing of the budget, reduce domestic debt and free up resources for
development.
He said with stability, inflation will fall further and exchange rates
will stabilise and lead to a decrease in real interest rates.
Karlson said “certainly, more better paid jobs would
not come if potential investors cannot find access to finance on more
reasonable terms than today.”
He also called for an improvement in the investment climate by having
rules and regulations that actually favour the government’s declaration of the
golden age of business.
He said there is a lot to do to facilitate the rapid movement of goods
through harbours and airports, cut red tape and improve the overall environment
that rewards entrepreneurship, adding that there is a potential to create more
jobs.
Karlson further called for a major push on the infrastructure side, that is, improving access and quality and reducing the
costs to business to boost investments.
On agriculture, he said there is the need for
Kwesi Jonah, a Political Science Lecturer of the
Reacting to another concern raised by a participant on the matter, he
said the call for full cost recovery is a genuine concern of the universities
because the government gives the universities only 52 per cent of its budget
annually.
Jonah said it is, therefore, necessary for the
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Under the programme, 760,000 more people will have access to potable
water while about 850,000 others who receive low levels of water supply will be
adequately served.
The acting Managing Director of the GWCL, Mr Samuel Gerald Odartey Lamptey, who disclosed
this in an interview in
Lamptey said to ensure that the company generates the estimated amount of $6m,
the commercial department will be revamped to meet the challenges ahead.
On whether the programme will conflict with the government's intended
private sector participation PSP in water delivery programme in the country,
the acting managing director replied in the negative. He said the programme has
nothing to do with the PSP, adding that when the PSP takes off it will go
alongside the programme.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Works and Housing, Alhaji
Mustapha Ali Idris, has cautioned the management of
the GWCL against undertaking expenditures without proper consultation and approval
from the ministry.
Reacting to a concern raised by the General Manager, Finance and
Administration, Cobbie Kessie
to the effect that the company is paying ¢55m daily on a £3m loan a former
managing director of the company contracted some years ago for the construction
of 13 overhead water tanks in Accra, the minister said the caution is aimed at
ensuring that the company does not incur more debts to further constrain its
finances.
Alhaji Idris was interacting with top management
officials of the company during his maiden visit to the head office of the
company in
He called on the management to collaborate with the ministry in all that
it does so that they can collectively find solutions to the company’s numerous
challenges.
The minister later want to the Kpong Head Works to inspect the facilities there. Answering
questions on the PSP, he said it is the intention of the government to broaden
the horizon of the debate on the issue to ensure that Ghanaians have the best.
He said a decision on the matter will be taken soon to prevent the
company from collapsing. On the exportation of water to
He said the quality of water in Togo is not the best and that it will
not be out of place for the government to assist its neighbour in that regard
in the spirit of ECOWAS.
Alhaji Idris said the project will not be funded by
the government should it start adding that areas along the lines to
To this end, he appealed to the minister to prevail on the government
pay £1.2mn of the £3mn debt for the company to concentrate more on the
management of the company.
Lamptey also referred to the support the government promised the Electricity
Company of
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The loss has come as a result of a significant reduction in revenue of
¢36bn from international traffic owing to the illegal by-passing of the
company's international gateway by other operators in the telecommunications
industry.
The Chief Executive of the company, Oystein Bjoige, who confirmed this in an interview in
It will be recalled that, due to the enormity of the losses to GT and
for that matter the state, the National Communications Authority (NCA) launched
an investigation into the matter last year to find which companies were behind
the deal and bring them to book.
Bjoige said other reasons for the loss include imbalance in the tariffs, which
makes it much cheaper to call from the fixed network of the company to other
mobile operators.
He said the net payment to other operators by GT, increased by ¢56bn,
representing a rise of about 262 per cent over the previous year’s, adding that
this clearly justifies the need for the company to re-balance the tariffs to
avert future losses.
The GT Chief Executive explained that when one uses the GT fixed line in
calling a mobile phone, GT is made to pay more to the mobile phone operator for
what is termed in the industry as an interrupting call and this is what has
caused the company to pay so much.
One other cause of the huge loss deficit a currency
loss, which increased by ¢41bn. He said
although losses cannot be avoided, they could have been reduced significantly
if there was proper financial management.
He said provisions for bad debts and receivable which had to be written
off, amounted to ¢155bn, an increase of ¢134bn over that of the 2001 financial
year. This implies that the bad debts were under-provided in the previous
years.
Asked whether the company was able to identify any wrongdoing on the
part of any official, he replied in the negative, saying, that although the
company's managers need to be equipped with additional skills to enhance their
performance, there is so far nothing against any of them.
He also announced that sooner than later, the company may come out with
new tariffs, since the current tariffs are too low, compared to the cost of
service. Bjoige said the company remains committed to
providing a considerable number of lines for its mobile phone subscribers.
He said the company will undertake a massive expansion of its network
before the end of the year and gave the assurance that it will recapture the
market. Bjoige said there is an increase in number of
domestic subscribers and, therefore, a rise in revenue to ¢180 billion. This,
he said can be used to offset the other losses the company has made. – Graphic
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The amount was first paid by the Ministry of Finance to the schools
early this year but somehow, it was listed as part of the ¢96.66bn of unpaid
absorbed fees and liabilities for the 2002-2003 academic year.
The Ministry of Education, taking a strong exception to the liabilities,
has made it clear that it will not transfer the money to the schools since
another payment will amount to a loss to the state. The sector minister, Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, revealed this
in an interview in
It will be recalled that three weeks ago the Conference of Heads of
Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) threatened to close down senior secondary
schools for non-payment of the arrears and liabilities by the government. CHASS,
at an emergency meeting in
The minister explained that as a result of the detection, an amount of
¢75bn, instead of the ¢96.6bn, has been paid to the schools, leaving a balance
of ¢3bn to be transferred to complete the payment for the 2002-2003 academic
year.
Baah-Wiredu said a practical fee charged by the schools on Arts students has been
scrapped because such students do not do practicals.
He said based on the analysis done, the ministry has earmarked ¢70bn as
subsidy for pre-tertiary institutions for the 2003/2004 academic year.
The minister gave the assurance that ¢23bn, representing one-third of
the amount, will be released to the schools from September to December this
year, to reduce the burden on heads of institutions.
He explained that the ministry will continue to consult the national
executive of CHASS, the Ghana Education Service and other stakeholders to
deliberate on issues affecting second cycle schools. – Graphic
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Ashietey mentioned the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Immigration Service as
some of the targeted organisations. He explained that the new strategy is
geared towards revamping the local textile industry.
The minister expressed the optimism that such an arrangement will put
the local textile factories in production and thereby create jobs for the
people. “This will also help to reduce the quest for the importation of some of
these fabrics,” he said.
Ashietey said as part of the plan, the Customs Excise and Preventive Service
(CEPS), the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) and the Police will intensify the
surveillance on illegal smuggling of textiles into the country.
Ashietey said in interview after he paid a day’s working visit to two textile
factories in Tema that the government’s resolve on
revamping the textile sector is meant to save it from total collapse.
The minister conceded that although the sector has been allowed to
decline over the years, the present government is determined to salvage it. “There
is no reason why the textile industry should be allowed to collapse. Everything
will be done to resuscitate a once viable industry which employed thousands of
people’s,” he said.
He said after visiting the Ghana Textile Printing (GTP) and the Ghana
Textile Manufacturing Company (GTMC), it became clear that the government’s response
is what is needed to revamp the industry.
He also suggested to the textile firms to seriously consider investing
in the production of cotton to ensure that their raw material needs are met
throughout the year. – Graphic
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Tema (Greater Accra)
The project also includes the laying of both water distribution and
sewage pipes around the enclave to enable anchor companies at the enclave to
get hooked to these utility services.
The project is being executed by China International Water and Electric
Corporation (CWE), while the World Bank, through the Gateway Services Ltd,
provided funding for it. It was completed within the scheduled two-year
duration. A short ceremony to hand over the project to the Ghana Free Zones Board, has been performed at the free zone enclave.
Nana Asafo-Boakye, the Managing Director of
ABP Consult, Engineering Consultants of the project, said in the near future,
two more underground reservoirs and two other overhead tanks will be
constructed to bring the total capacity of water at the enclave to five
million.
The consultant expressed the hope that although the source of water is
the Kpong Water Works, which also supplies water to
“In addition, the Kpong water pumping station
has recently undergone an expansion that should forestall any possible
disruption in water supply to the
Commenting on the sewage system, Nana Asafo-Boakye
said a detention tank, a treatment component as well as a laboratory to test
the effluent before it is finally discharged into the sea, have also been
provided to satisfy environmental requirements.
The acting Executive Director of the GFZB, Andy Appiah-Kubi,
underscored the importance of the enclave, saying it is to enable the country
to take advantage of the international market.
He said
He gave the assurance that the enclave will be supplied with reliable
and dedicated utilities to ensure uninterrupted operations at the site.
He called on the investor community to take advantage of the facility.
The Chinese Ambassador to
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Speaking to precious metal analysts in
In the same period last year,
Earnings for this year’s first quarter were 59% down at $6.8m compared
to $16.5m achieved in the same period last year. Earnings per share were $0.05
down from last year’s value of $0.15. “Ashanti Group gross and net debt levels
were broadly unchanged during the first quarter at $255.9m and $215m
respectively,” Dr. Jonah said.
Meanwhile,
The market-to- market valuation at hedge book at quarter end was
negative $93.3m based on a spot price of $336 per ounce. On the outlook for the
second quarter, Sam Jonah said production would be in the range of 375,000
ounces due to the delay in commissioning of the enlarged processing plant at Iduaprieum Gold Mine.
He said rising fuel prices, increases in power costs and wages,
depreciation of the US$ in which revenues are denominated, the depreciation in
currencies of countries from which Ashanti sources its inputs and rising cost
of reagents would impact adversely on the cash operating cost of the company.
He also mentioned that cash-operating cost is likely to increase by 10%
this year but he was quick to add that
Government of
“I think this whole business should be over and done within the next two
weeks,” said Kwamena Bartels, Minister of Private
Sector Development. – Chronicle
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Accra (Greater Accra) 20 June 2003 – The Minister for Lands and
Forestry, Prof Dominic Fobih, has confirmed that the
actual amount involved in the payment of the Toyota Land Cruiser with
registration number GW 501 T for his deputy minister was $55,000 as reported in
front page story of Monday’s issue of the Chronicle.
Although he did not go into details on the matter, he maintained that Broni moved the newly acquired vehicle to his ministry
after he had consulted him and some chief directors on the issue, adding that
it was a normal thing to do and sees nothing wrong with it.
The Professor made this known when he was asked to clarify the
controversies surrounding the acquisition of the vehicle when he took his turn
at ‘Meet the Press’ series in
He said government has put in place a policy on land reforms to instill order and discipline in the land market to curb the
incidence of land encroachment, unapproved development schemes, multiple or
illegal land sales and other forms of land racketeering the country.
He also mentioned that the policy would help minimize, as well as help
eliminate, protracted land boundary disputes, conflicts and litigation in order
to bring their associated economic costs and socio-political upheavals under
control.
Touching on how the policy was going to be implemented in order to
achieve results, Prof. Fobih noted that it will be
implemented through the Land Administration Programme to indicate government’s
long term commitment in enhancing economic and social growth by improving the
security of tenure and simplifying the process of land acquisition by the
public.
He said the first phase of the programme would harmonize the policy and
the legislative framework for sustainable land administration by fostering a
link to land use planning; encouraging the active participation and engagement
of customary land owners and defining clear and complementary roles for land
sector agencies, district assemblies, customary authorities and the private
sector.
On the issue of providing raw material to the textiles industry, the
minister intimated that the hue and cry by the timber industry operatives about
the lack of concession to source raw material for processing has minimized
since the Forestry Commission as at December, last year, had issued 575 Timber
Utilization Permits to timber companies.
He said the permits were issued in addition to the existing 238
concessions already in the system, which has not yet expired, adding that the
apparent shortage of timber in the domestic market may be due to reasons other
than lack of concessions.
Prof. Fobih pointed out that his ministry, in
collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, has implemented a policy framework
that encourage the private sector to invest in developing and managing tourism
reception facilities in wildlife protected areas. – Chronicle
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Tamale (Northern Region)
“If the report is out and it does not reflect the truth, then the
Commission can be taken on,” she said.
Mrs. Anipa was briefing the press on the
Commission’s preparation for the hearing in Tamale yesterday. The hearing
begins today at the auditorium of the Ghana Literacy and Bible Translation,
about four miles from Tamale town. She said 65 cases from Tamale and Bolgatanga would be heard.
By
She added that by the first week of June 2003, the Commission had
received 3,667 statements from zonal offices across
the country, Ho, Takoradi, Tamale, Bolgatanga,
According to Mrs. Anipa, the Commission is
victim centered as it establishes events of human
rights abuses. It also ensures that victims get reparation or counselling, but
where perpetrators are identified, they are given the chance to defend
themselves.
Mrs. Anipa referred to some instances when
media reports were inaccurate and charged the press in Tamale to be factual
because misrepresentations could inflame passions. The hearings in Tamale would
end on
The Commission started hearings on
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The vice-chairman of the local workers union of TEWU, Leo Yankson, in an interview told the Chronicle that even
though payment of workers allowance over the past five years had not been
regular, the beginning of the 2003 had turned out to be the period within which
they have been hard hit by commuted, maintenance, height, medical and risk
allowances thus rendering their take home pay a peanut.
According to him, the workers had decided to embark on their strike
action as early as last February, this year over what they described as ‘very
poor conditions of service of meager salaries of wags
of the workers, but for the intervention of Nana Kobena
Nketsia V, Omanhene of Essikado, in Sekondi, who is the
new board chairman of the Museum and Monuments and the Central Regional
Director of the Museum and Monuments, Raymond Agbo.
Yankson stated that even though Nana Nketsiah pleaded
with them not to embark on the strike action to enable him do his best to
address the situation, his (Nana) best could not turn the wheel of misfortune
around.
According to the vice-chairman, overtime claims, which never exceeded 75%
of their monthly basic monthly salaries, have been replaced with a meager 15% supposedly as duty allowances thus lowering the
monthly incomes of workers (GMMB) to almost zero percent.
The workers intimated that there is an urgent need for the overhauling
of the management and are therefore calling on management to liaise with all
stakeholders and others as a matter of urgency to restore and correct all
anomalies existing of allowances and the entire salary and wages structures to
reflect on the present economic conditions, including the NPP government’s
announced daily minimum wage, to enable them also to put up their best in line
with government aspirations based on hard work.
The workers also called on His Excellency the President to as a matter
of urgency redefine the role of the
The vice-chairman on behalf of these colleagues rendered their sincere
apologies to their numerous clients who in one way or the other might have been
prevented from entering the castles in Elmina and
In another development, Wallace Kwaw, the
chief museum’s education officer in charge of the
In a related development, about 100 students of the Wildlife Club of the
Asamankese Secondary School who had travelled all
over the Kakum National Park and to the Cape Coast
Castle under their patron, Aboagye Amoah Evans, were refused entry in Cape Coast Castle,
following the strike action by workers of GMMB. – Chronicle
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‘ECOWAS speaker invited me’– Kofi
Kofi Asante, the MP, told Chronicle that he was
the chairman of the Joint Committee for Budget and Finance of the ECOWAS Parliament,
and that he was there to participate in last month’s session of the
decision-making bodies of the sub-regional House and Bureau Conference of
Chairmen.
“As I am talking now, I have presented my report. I have no business
doing there if nobody invites me.”
Kofi Asante voluntarily resigned as NDC Member of
Parliament for Amenfi West in March this year. Until
his resignation
“I was to arrive in
Having received the invitation, he said, they looked at the budget and
prepared a report and as chairman he was supposed to present that report which
he did.
Asked if the ECOWAS speaker knew of his resignation before the
invitation, the former MP replied in the affirmative. “The speaker was very
much aware. On the day of my resignation, I was in
Readers would recall that after Kofi Asante resigned as MP for Amenfi
West the Member of Parliament for Wenchi West, Hon. Asiedu Nketia, said that
“I was surprised when I saw him on television purporting to represent
Speaking to Chronicle on whether Asante could
still be at the ECOWAS Parliament, explained that the rules provided for by
Article 7 Paragraph 2 of the protocol, states among other things that
representatives shall be elected for a period of five years from the day of
swearing-in and that their mandate shall without any exception end on the last
day of the legislature.
He stressed that the former MP wants to rely on Article 7 of the
transitional period, which allows representatives who are not re-elected at the
national level to remain in office until the new representative from their
respective member states take up their position.
Nketiah further asserted that if that was what
But if after a general election you have not been returned to your
position as a member of Parliament then it would take some time for your mother
parliament to swear in before they send new delegates, he explained.
“So it is provided that until the new delegates are sent there, then you
can remain there and this has nothing to do with resignation,” the Wenchi MP noted.
In view of this provision, Nketiah contended
that the former MP should not have presented himself at all in
He told this paper that a letter dated 11 June 2001, concerning
representatives of the Parliament of Ghana to the ECOWAS Parliament was sent to
Peter Ala Adjetey, by the ECOWAS speaker of
Parliament, Prof. Ali Nouhoum Diallo,
which reads: “The views of all members is that representatives of Ghana already
sworn in must remain in their positions in the ECOWAS Parliament as long as
they remain members of the Ghanaian Parliament.
They only cease to be members of the Ecowas
Parliament when they lose their seats in the Ghana Parliament or they resign on
their own volition.”
In a related development, Nketiah reported
that the minority is represented by Mrs. Alice Boon – (MP) Lambussie,
Ken Dzirasah - (MP) South Tongu,
Tawiah Likpalimo – (MP) Kpandai and Seidu Adamu – (MP) Bibiani have
replaced Kofi Asante as
members of ECOWAS Parliament. – Chronicle
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