Toyota Ghana tops 2009 edition of Ghana Club 100

Toyota Ghana Company Limited (TGCL), a leading automobile dealer, has been adjudged the overall best company for the 2009 Edition of the Ghana Club 100 Awards in Accra on Tuesday. Nine other companies that made it to the best 10 category include Auto Plaza Limited, Stanbic Bank Ghana Limited, Ecobank Ghana Limited, UT Financial Services and Dan Adams Pharmaceuticals Limited. The rest were The Trust Bank Ghana Limited, Scancom Limited, All-Ship Logistics and Amalgamated Bank Ghana Limited.

"The Ghana Club 100 Awards" instituted in 1998, is an annual event to celebrate the top one hundred (100) companies in various sectors of the country's economy.

The Ghana Investment Promotion Center (GIPC) organised the event on the theme: "Enhancing Partnerships between Domestic and Foreign Investors for Sustained Economic Development". This year's awards, which were ranked, based on three factors of the competing companies, such as size, return on equity and growth was unique because rural banks put up a strong showing, sweeping a substantial amount of the awards.

Mr Takahiko Takabayashi, Managing Director of TGCL received the award on behalf of the company and promised to continue to do more to ensure customer satisfaction, which he said, is a core objective of the company. Ms Hanna Tetteh, Minister of Trade and Industry urged companies to continue to focus on what they do and even do it better to enable them to grow. Ms Tetteh said government was aware of the problems confronting the business environment assuring that it would continue to implement reforms to improve the sector. She appealed to the private sector to embrace and sustain the Ghana Club 100 Awards, calling on members to impress on other private firms to join it.

She also congratulated the GIPC for maintaining the momentum in the annual event. Mr Ishmael Yamson, Board Chairman of the GIPC observed that Ghana was experiencing interesting times; oil discovery and its attendant benefits among others, adding that the revenue from the sector should be used to create jobs

Mr Yamson called on the award winners to fashion out measures to ensure that they continued to be amongst winners in subsequent years. Mr George Aboagye, Chief Executive Officer of GIPC congratulated all companies that have participated in the event since its inception in 1998.

Mr Aboagye reiterated the importance of the private sector to the country's economic growth and realization of the government's Better Ghana Agenda, adding GIPC would continue to facilitate its improvement. He announced that GIPC would hold interactive meetings with corporate organizations on their perceptions about the awards and how to improve upon it.
Source: GNA

MTN's George Andah moves to Bharti Airtel (Zain)

Mr George Andah, the multi-award winning Chief Marketing Officer for Ghana's leading telecoms operator, MTN (Ghana), is moving to Bharti Airtel, owners of Zain Telecommunications Limited.

George Andah who was formally at Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited was last year awarded Marketing Man of the Year, along several other awards he has picked up for his marketing acumen.

He has also been credited as having played crucial roles in MTN Ghana's growth and huge success as a market leader in Ghana.

His move could be part of Bharti Airtel’s plan to capture the Ghanaian Market and also make it a leading brand as he has done with MTN and Guinness Ghana Limited.

Andah attained his first degree in Bsc Biochemistry at the Kwame Nkrumah Science and Technology..

He is also an old Student of Achimota College.


Source: Joy News

Cold war at GT Bank

Trouble is brewing at one of the emerging banks in the country, Guaranty Trust Bank (GT bank) Ghana Limited, over the alleged unfair treatment of workers by management.

The situation has led to a state of uneasiness among junior and mid-career workers of the bank who feel insecure at the hands of management.

This follows the dismissal of one Kwame Osiang Adjekum, an assistant banking officer with the bank.

A dismissal letter jointly signed by the bank’s head of Human Resource, Susan Okine and Group Head of Corporate Services, Iris Richter-Addo dated September 7, 2010, did not state the reason for the termination of Mr. Adjekum’s appointment.

It only said “your services are no longer required by the bank.”

The bank has since asked him to arrange to have his identification card, lapel pin, credit policy guide and all other documents belonging to the bank returned to the human resource department.

They have also resolved to communicate their indebtedness to Mr. Adjekum and whatever entitlements due him, including a month’s salary in lieu of notice by 30th September 2010.

His dismissal has sent threatening signals to workers of the bank since they feel insecure at the developments.

Several of these workers have been speaking with DAILY GUIDE on condition of anonymity about the cold treatment being meted out to them at the bank.

Public Relations Officer of the Labour Commission, Mohammed Affum, says the Commission has waded into the ‘strange’ circumstance under which Mr. Adjekum was dismissed from the bank, after he filed a petition at the Commission.

In his petition, a copy of which is in the possession of DAILY GUIDE, Mr. Adjekum stressed the belief that he was dismissed for the wrong reasons.

He narrated the circumstances leading to his dismissal following a complaint to his bosses by the Managing Director of Afrotropic Cocoa Processing Company (ACPL), Carlo Dagnino.

Dagnino was said to have visited the bank on Friday, September 3, 2010 without a scheduled appointment and on arrival called Mr Adjekum’s personal mobile phone.

The petition indicated that the victim had then left his phone on his desk and gone to the washroom.

Thinking that Mr. Adjekum was avoiding him or his calls, Mr. Dagnino proceeded to lodge a complaint with the MD of GT bank, Dolapo Ogundimu.

Dolapo then invited Mr. Adjekum to his office and demanded his mobile phone in the presence of the General Manager, Jamiu Yussuf and the Group Head of Consumer banking, Anthony Mensah, which he respectfully gave out.

He followed it up with the submission of his itemized bill indicating the call traffic between him and the client which indicated that he had been in touch with the said client.

Despite this fact, Mr. Adjekum said that Dolapo called for his resignation before close of day on Friday or have his appointment terminated. Dolapo went on to make allegations that he took this action because a customer had called him 10 times in two days without answering the calls.

This, Mr. Adjekum described as erroneous since he had visited the customer’s office on the previous Thursday with the Head of Risk Management, Daniel Gaikpah, who saw the number of times he spoke with the customer, both on the way to and from the customer’s office and factory.

Mr. Adjekum thus believes that he was wrongfully dismissed and thus asked the Labour Commission and whoever might be concerned to intervene in the matter.

When contacted, GT bank’s Head of Human Resources, Susan Okine, she said she was at a meeting and could not talk.

Even though she promised to call back, she never did.

Guaranty Trust Bank was registered in Ghana in October 2004 and obtained its universal banking licence from the Bank of Ghana on 23rd February, 2006, thereby paving the way for the commencement of operations.

The bank is a subsidiary of Guaranty Trust Bank Nigeria Plc which owns 95.72% of the issued share capital of the bank with Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij Ontwikkelingslanden N.V. (FMO) holding 2.14% and Alhaji Yusif Ibrahim, a Ghanaian business entrepreneur, holding the remaining 2.14%.
Source : Daily Guide

Tullow To Begin Massive Exploration

... Oil giant seeks more black gold in Ghana, rest of world

Tullow Oil plc (Tullow), Operator of the Jubilee Field in Ghana, is set to commence a new round of massive oil exploration campaign with up to four wells in the company’s Deepwater Tano license in Ghana. The search for the black gold due to start in June this year follows the company’s successful work at the Tweneboa-2 oil well.

Tullow’s fresh exploration will not be limited to Ghana. Significant wells are also planned in Liberia, Sierra Leone, French Guyana and Guyana to test the extension of the Jubilee play in the Equatorial Atlantic region.

Tullow goes into these massive exploratory works, while looking forward to its first oil flow from Ghana’s Jubilee Field in the last quarter of this year. The company sees the expected oil flow in Ghana as a landmark event for itself, its partners and the people of Ghana.

According to Tullow, besides the Jubilee Field programme and plans for an accelerated basin-wide development to significantly enhance the value of the Lake Albert Rift Basin in Uganda, “a high-impact drilling campaign is planned for the second half of 2010.”

Given the extent of this activity, Tullow's Board believes the outlook for 2010 is very positive.

In an Interim Management Statement released on May 12, 2010, the Group said it would announce its half year Trading Statement and Operational Update on 6 July 2010. The release said Tullow has continued to perform very strongly in 2010. Tullow said it has also strengthened its balance sheet by completing a £925 million equity placing. GHANA Giving an Operational Update on its activities in Ghana, Tullow cited the commissioning of ‘FPSO Kwame Nkrumah MV21’, named after Ghana’s first president. The official Commissioning of the FPSO was performed in Singapore on May 1, 2010. The vessel will set sail for Ghana at the end of May, to be connected to subsea equipment which have since been installed on the seabed. According to Tullow, the drilling phase of the project was finished in February 2010 and completion equipment are now being installed in the wells with production scheduled to commence in late 2010, while ongoing well completion work continue for a further three to six months. During this period, facilities will be commissioned and production will be steadily ramped up to an expected plateau rate of 120,000 barrels of oil per day, Tullow announced. They disclosed that in January, the Tweneboa-2 appraisal well in the Deep Water Tano license proved Tweneboa to be a major oil and gas-condensate field. The potential of this expansive 200sqkm turbidity fan system will be evaluated with an exploration and appraisal drilling campaign scheduled to commence next month. According to Tullow, drilling will start on the high-impact Owo-1 exploration well, which will test the upside potential of the greater Tweneboa resource range in the West of the structure. “This will be followed by a well on the Onyina prospect, which lies between the Jubilee and Tweneboa fields. The rig will then return to the Tweneboa field to drill further exploratory appraisal wells. In parallel, conceptual field development planning is in progress with the aim of completing an assessment of field commerciality in mid-2011. “In April, the Atwood Hunter rig drilled the Dahoma-1 well, in the southeast Jubilee area, some 11 km down-dip from known oil. Water bearing reservoirs were encountered below a possible oil-water contact. “Indications of oil migration in the reservoirs suggest potential for oil trapped up-dip. The rig is now drilling Mahogany-5 to test up-dip oil accumulations east of Mahogany-3,” the statement revealed. Uganda In Uganda, Tullow announced that it has made significant progress towards aligning equity interests across the Lake Albert Rift Basin. According to Tullow, on 17 January 2010, it exercised its right of pre-emption on the Heritage Oil Plc asset sale to acquire a 50% interest in Blocks 1 and 3A for a consideration of up to US$1.5 billion. Tullow said on 2 February 2010, a formal request was submitted for consent from the Government of Uganda for the assets to be transferred to Tullow, and the government has indicated its intention to approve this transaction in the next few weeks. Tullow said it has been working closely with the Government of Uganda to farm down a proportion of its interests in the Basin and has selected two partners, “CNOOC and Total, and each partner will acquire a one-third interest in each of the three blocks.” Tullow said the move “will result in a unified partnership with considerable technical, operational and financial capability. In addition, it will enable Uganda to become a significant oil producing nation with the potential to produce at rates significantly in excess of 200,000 bopd. The new partnership arrangements will be finalised and approved shortly after the pre-emption”. Tullow disclosed that “in Block 2, the Kasamene-2 and Kasamene-3 appraisal wells were drilled in January and March respectively. The wells successfully delineated the upside potential of this field and provided essential reservoir data for the future development project. Extended well testing on the Kasamene field is expected to commence in the second half of 2010, and the crude oil produced will be trucked to local industry. The ultimate objective of this appraisal programme is to support the development of the field with first commercial oil production targeted for the fourth quarter of 2011. “In April, the Kasamene-3A well made a further oil discovery adjacent to the Kasamene field in the Wahrindi North fault block. The rig has now moved to drill the Nzizi-3 appraisal well as part of the Nzizi gas development project, and the well is expected to complete later this month. First commercial gas production is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2011. “To facilitate an accelerated Exploration and Appraisal programme, a second rig is due to commence drilling in Block 1 in June 2010. The programme will include appraisal of the Ngiri (Warthog) discovery and a comprehensive exploration campaign, east of the Jobi-Rii field, including the material Mpyo (Crocodile), Bbegeri (Leopard) and Jobi-East prospects, before year end. Additional rig capacity is currently being procured for later in the year.” Rest of Africa Production performance from the African portfolio is in line with expectations. In April, Tullow completed the first of two planned wells in the Ruvuma Basin in southern Tanzania. The Likonde-1 well, located in the Lindi block, encountered thick sands with hydrocarbon shows which are encouraging for the future potential of the basin. In Gabon, drilling in the Onal licence area has yielded the Maroc Nord OMOC-N-1 discovery where Tullow has a 7.5% interest. Further wells are planned to appraise this discovery and additional prospects are being drilled in the region where Tullow has back-in rights. In addition, the Noix de Coco-1 well in the Azobe exploration license commenced drilling in April and is expected to reach total depth later this month. In the Equatorial Atlantic area, plans for four high-impact wells in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Mauritania during the second half of the year are well advanced. Europe Gas production in the UK is ahead of expectations. A well performance optimisation campaign on the Schooner and Ketch fields yielded excellent results and the Thames fields have performed strongly. An infill well on the Ketch field is expected to commence in May with drilling operations forecast to take approximately three months, with first production expected by year end. On 25 March, Tullow exited its exploration interests in Portugal. South Asia

In Bangladesh, production remains steady at 120mmscfd, the maximum processing capacity of the facilities. In March 2010, a hydrocarbon dewpoint control system was commissioned which has resulted in a considerable increase in condensate recovery from the gas stream and delivery of gas to the main pipeline. In Pakistan, drilling operations on the Shekhan-1 well are ongoing with results expected later this month.

South America

Activity has focused on the transform margin from Guyana through Suriname to French Guiana where the Group is seeking to replicate its success in Ghana. Acquisition of a 2,500sqkm 3D seismic survey in French Guiana was completed in March and initial interpretations are very encouraging. Plans are progressing for drilling operations to commence in both French Guiana and Guyana around year-end.

By J. Ato Kobbie/The Business Analyst

Kasa Organises Financial Management Workshop for CSOs in the Natural Resource and Environment Sector

Kasa, a civil society support mechanism operates within the natural resource and environment sector in Ghana with the main objective of supporting civil society, research and media organisations to advocate in a concerted manner for transparency and accountability in the natural resource and environment sector.

The project facilitates strengthening of civil society engagement in natural resource and environment sector through supporting of research and evidence-based advocacy, provision of grants to aid organisations in their work and facilitate information-sharing platforms between stakeholders in the sub-sectors of forestry, mining, environment, oil and gas, etc in various national forums bringing together state and non-state actors.

Capacity building support is another core tenet of Kasa’s work through which learning events are organised to meet capacity building needs of partners. In line with this, a financial management training workshop is being organised for fifty-two (52) financial staff of partner civil society organisations working in the sub-sectors of mining, environment, land, forestry, the media and others. These organisations have a national spread from the north to the south of the country.

The three day programme which is being held in Noda Hotel, Kumasi from May 17-19, 2010 has the objective of assisting participants to enhance skills in financial management and to ensure that partner financial officers have a clear understanding of the basic financial books and records that need to be kept to present a complete true and fair view of the financial activities of their organisation. Some of the areas for the training include general principles of Donor Funds Management, Budget and Budgetary controls, Roles and Responsibilities of Finance and Programme Management, etc.

At the opening session, the Kasa Project Manager mentioned that, the Financial Management Workshop is important because Kasa provides grants to partners to facilitate their in their different sub-sectors and this brings into sharp focus the essential point of providing grantees with the current trends in financial management principles in order for funding to be well utilised and to upgrade the skills of partners to be able to source for funding from various organisations and manage it well in order for continuity in their work in the sector.

Participants’ expectations cut across learning on internal controls, managing risks, the role of budgets, basic accounting principles and budgetary controls, financial transparency and the issue of fraud both perceived and real.

In the first session of the workshop presentations on the issues of Corporate Governance and General Principles of Donor Funds were made and a discussion session followed to clarify some issues. Under general financial management the issues to be highlighted during the workshop are issues of accountability and internationally acceptable financial standards, budgets and financial planning, internal controls, book-keeping and accounting, Financial Reporting etc.

At the end of the workshop it is expected that participants would have enhanced their knowledge and skills in the concepts of financial management and review of financial reports and also be exposed to donor guidelines for grants.

Nigerian Pirates Seize Ghanaian Captain

Pirates have demanded a one-and-half-million dollar ransom for two sailors they seized at the weekend off the coast of Cameroon but close to Nigeria, a Nigerian navy officer said on Tuesday.

A Ghanaian captain and his Cameroonian engineer were attacked on Saturday off the restive Bakassi peninsula and taken from their vessel, Nigerian Navy spokesman commodore David Nabaida told AFP.

The yet-unidentified pirates "have asked for a ransom of 1.5 million dollars (1.1 million euros)," said Nabaida, adding the seamen are being held in Abana. Abana, a major town in oil-rich Bakassi peninsula, was part of Nigeria before the territory was ceded to Cameroon.

"MV Seagull was coming from Cameroon when it was attacked very close to Bakassi peninsula in the Cameroonian waters," he said.



"They (the pirates) didn't find anything valuable to steal, so they took the captain and the engineer off the ship," added Nabaida.

The ship, which is believed to be used for general trading along the west coast of Africa, has been towed to Nigeria's southern coastal city of Calabar, capital of Cross River State.

Seven Chinese fishermen were this month freed by an armed gang in Cameroon's southwest Bakassi region after a six-day hostage ordeal.

Several groups, mostly armed, are active in the Bakassi peninsula, which was handed over to Cameroon by Nigeria in August 2008 under an international court settlement of a border dispute between Douala and Abuja.

The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) identified Africa as a piracy hotspot following an increase in attacks in 2008, with Somali and Nigerian waters the most dangerous for seafarers.
Source:AFP
Comments:

Ghana and Germany Joining Forces to Promote the Agric Sector

The Government of Ghana and KfW, the German Development Bank acting on behalf of the German Government signed on Monday a loan and financing agreement for a 10.0 million Euros loan and a 1.0 million Euros grant for the establishment of an “Outgrower and Value Chain Fund” (OVCF).

The Agreement was jointly signed by Honorable Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning and Dr. Klaus Mueller, KfW First Vice President in the presence of Mrs. Harriet Ludwig (Head of Cooperation at the German Embassy), Mr. Martin Mueller (GTZ Director West Africa and Pan-African Programmes), Dr. Helmut Schoen (KfW Country Director, Accra), and Mr. Fred Brandl (GTZ Country Director, Accra).

The ceremony was attended by Hon E. T Mensah (Minister, Employment and Social Welfare), Mr. Okyere-Nyako (MoFEP Director Bilateral) and other officials from MoFEP.

Agriculture is one of the three focal sectors of German Development Cooperation with the overall goal to improve the income of the rural population by supporting value chain approaches and strengthening small scale commercial farmers.

Access to finance is a major problem for the development of the agricultural sector. This problem is specifically addressed by the Outgrower and Value Chain Fund which will provide improved access to medium to long term financing of investments by small scale farmers and will contribute to the development of outgrower schemes and the integration of small holder farmers into market oriented agricultural development.

To further underline the importance of the agricultural sector for Ghana the German Government announced on the same day the new commitment of an amount of 3 Mio. € for technical assistance for this sector. This is additional to the 130 Mio. € envelope already committed to Ghana in December 2009.

The visit of two high ranking officials from the Headquarters of two of the major implementing agencies of Germany’s support - from KfW Development Bank and GTZ -demonstrate the joint approach in the sector.

The Government of Ghana and KfW, the German Development Bank acting on behalf of the German Government signed on Monday a loan and financing agreement for a 10.0 million Euros loan and a 1.0 million Euros grant for the establishment of an “Outgrower and Value Chain Fund” (OVCF).

The Agreement was jointly signed by Honorable Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning and Dr. Klaus Mueller, KfW First Vice President in the presence of Mrs. Harriet Ludwig (Head of Cooperation at the German Embassy), Mr. Martin Mueller (GTZ Director West Africa and Pan-African Programmes), Dr. Helmut Schoen (KfW Country Director, Accra), and Mr. Fred Brandl (GTZ Country Director, Accra).

The ceremony was attended by Hon E. T Mensah (Minister, Employment and Social Welfare), Mr. Okyere-Nyako (MoFEP Director Bilateral) and other officials from MoFEP.

Agriculture is one of the three focal sectors of German Development Cooperation with the overall goal to improve the income of the rural population by supporting value chain approaches and strengthening small scale commercial farmers.

Access to finance is a major problem for the development of the agricultural sector. This problem is specifically addressed by the Outgrower and Value Chain Fund which will provide improved access to medium to long term financing of investments by small scale farmers and will contribute to the development of outgrower schemes and the integration of small holder farmers into market oriented agricultural development.

To further underline the importance of the agricultural sector for Ghana the German Government announced on the same day the new commitment of an amount of 3 Mio. € for technical assistance for this sector. This is additional to the 130 Mio. € envelope already committed to Ghana in December 2009.

The visit of two high ranking officials from the Headquarters of two of the major implementing agencies of Germany’s support - from KfW Development Bank and GTZ -demonstrate the joint approach in the sector.

PR Section/ German Embassy,Accra

Government Absorbs Fuel Increase For 2 Weeks

The government has decided to absorb the expected increase in fuel prices in the country for the next two weeks. Government subsidy on fuel between March 16 and April 15, this year amounts to GH¢12million,according to the acting Chief Executive of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Mr. Alex Kofi Mensah Mould. He told the Daily Graphic yesterday that the government decided to absorb the expected increase when the NPA informed it of the rise in the price of oil by 10 per cent since October last year. “There is not going to be any increase in fuel prices. The government has decided to absorb the fuel price,” Mr. Mould said. He said the price of oil hovered between $75 and $80 per barrel. He said the NPA was still monitoring the market and indicated that if the increase was temporary, the NPA would not recommend any increases in the prices of fuel. He explained that that was to curtail any increases in transportation fares, since transport owners increased transport fares whenever fuel prices were increased but refused to reduce the fares if fuel prices went down. Mr. Mould said if the price of oil hit above $80 per barrel or the increases in fuel prices remained permanent, the NPA would recommend an increase in fuel prices. In the same way, he said, if the price of oil went down to between $65 and $70, the NPA would recommend a reduction in fuel prices. He said the government was sensitive to the effect of fuel prices on consumers. Mr. Mould said the NPA had held a stakeholders meeting with the Ministry of Information, the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU and the Ghana Transport Association on how to protect consumers. Source: Daily Graphic

Germany increases support to Ghana by 60%

The German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development has made a commitment to Ghana of 130 million Euros (approximately GH¢275million ) for financial and technical cooperation for the period from 2009 to 2011. This new pledge represents an increase of more than 60%.

In making this increase, the German government is realising its aim of giving particular support to partner countries that succeed in practising good governance. The new commitment raises the total German development cooperation support to Ghana since independence to more than GH¢ 2400 million (1180 million Euro).

This was agreed at the governmental negotiations between the Republic of Ghana and the Federal Republic of Germany on 17 and 18 December 2009 in Bonn (Germany).
The intergovernmental dialogue highlighted the strong commitment of the Republic of Ghana to achieving the Millennium Development Goals and to promoting broad-based growth. The German delegation acknowledged the successes in reducing poverty as well as Ghana’s leading role in regional stability and democratisation. Both delegations stressed the importance of oil and gas for Ghana’s sustainable growth and the consideration of international best practice for the processes.

The Ghanaian-German bilateral development cooperation is based on Ghanaian strategies and implemented within the framework of the “Ghana - Joint Assistance Strategy”, signed by all principal development partners. In this context it was agreed to continue the German assistance in the existing focal areas of sustainable economic and financial development, agriculture and decentralization. Additionally, Germany scaled-up its commitment for direct budget support in the framework of the Multi Donor Budget Support (MDBS); new commitments were already made in September at 55 Million Euro (more that 130 Million Ghana Cedis) and reconfirmed at the negotiations.

At a meeting with the participants at the negotiations, Gudrun Kopp, the Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, emphasized: “We will continue to direct German-Ghanaian cooperation towards future-oriented areas. By strengthening market orientation and performance-based incentive systems, we will continue to contribute to sustainable economic growth that will benefit large sections of the population.”

SOURCE :Ruth Mensah- German Embassy,Accra

Standard Bank wins ‘Best Investment Bank from Africa’ Award

Standard Bank reinforced its credentials as a leading emerging market bank, winning the prestigious ‘Best Investment Bank from Africa’, award in The Banker’s Investment Banking Awards 2009.

The Awards, held at London’s Waldorf Hilton Hotel, recognizes excellence in investment banking around the world.

Standard Bank (20% owned by ICBC, the biggest bank in the world) - is the largest African banking group ranked by assets and earnings and operates in 17 countries in Africa, employing more than 50,000 people.

Commenting, Brian Caplen, Editor of The Banker magazine said: "We are very pleased to recognize Standard Bank's achievements in building up an investment banking presence across Africa and especially in some of the frontier markets. The bank has also been in a strong position to take advantage of international opportunities such as purchasing a stake in Troika Dialog in Russia. It's a successful formula that will be watched with interest in the months ahead."

Rupert Boyd, Managing Director, Global Head of Investor Coverage, Standard Bank, Corporate and Investment Banking said: “Standard Bank has an unparalleled depth of personnel and expertise in Africa and has been actively involved in the continent’s economic fortunes for over 145 years. While this award recognizes this fact, it is also a reflection of some of the innovative and unique deals that the team have been involved in over the past twelve months; whether that be acting as Joint Issuing House/Arranger and Primary Dealer to the N275 billion Lagos State Debt Issue or as the Lead Mandated Arranger of the USD240 million Tanesco Limited loan. Furthermore, our strategic partnership with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has laid the foundation for significant expansion of trade and investment between China and Africa, and has been a defining milestone for Standard Bank.”

Standard Bank is a leading African banking group focused on emerging markets globally. It has been a mainstay of South Africa's financial system for over 145 years, and now spans 17 countries across the African continent. Its international expansion has taken it to 16 countries outside Africa

Standard Bank Plc in London is the bank's principal international subsidiary. It is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority, and is a member of the London Stock Exchange, the London Bullion Market Association, the London Metal Exchange, the London Platinum and Palladium Market and the New York Mercantile Exchange (COMEX Division).
Source: Esi Johnson/platformghana.com

Outstanding Arrears Choke NHIS

¢115m 2008 OUTSTANDING ARREARS...

The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) and the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) are reeling under a shocking GH¢115 million arrears left behind by the erstwhile New Patriotic Party government (NPP). The National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration had from January to June this year released a whopping GH¢ 142,483,546.60 to the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA). This represents 96.2 per cent of government’s budgetary obligation for the period. Regrettably, this releases have gone into clearing of the arrears of the 2008, thereby generating an indebtedness to healthcare providers for the period March 2009 to date to the tune of GH¢120,933,849.The huge indebtedness to healthcare providers, is currently crippling the scheme nationwide. A letter dated August 23, 2009 and intercepted by The Heritage, detailed the cry of the scheme's boss, Mr. Sylvester Mensah to government. The letter reveals a very sorry situation that can collapse the rather laudable health policy which has and continues to save the lives of thousands of Ghanaians. According to the NHIA boss, the scheme urgently 'requires a minimum of GH¢75million within the next 24 hours, to avert a looming massive withdrawal of healthcare service delivery to NHIS subscribers, a situation that would cause a major setback to the NHIS programme.' Amongst the many challenges that are also threatening the existence of the scheme the letter stated, is the headache of how to clear an outstanding debt of GH¢115,567,612 owed the scheme as at the end of December 2008. As the Acting Chief Executive puts it, 'the precarious state of the National Health Insurance Fund, and the impending threat this poses to the NHIS as a programme to secure affordable healthcare services to residents of Ghana.' Mr. Mensah further laments that the current situation of the National Health Insurance Scheme and its resultant effect is that 'healthcare providers across the country have run out of essential logistics to provide healthcare services to our subscribers; most providers are turning away NHIS subscribers whilst others have threatened to close down, situations which have consequences for the government.' According to the acting chief executive, 'any further delay in advancing funds to the NHIA would severely damage the confidence that people have in the NHIS and derail Government's policy of a one-time premium payment expected to commence late next year.' 'We also urge that urgent mechanisms are put in place to settle all outstanding payments owed to the NHIA, whilst ensuring prompt transfers of all future funds due to the NHIA, Mr. Mensah appealed to the sector ministry in a distress letter dated August 23, 2009.

Source: The Heritage -Ghana

Without a coherent supply chain strategy Ghana will not become a middle income status country…. Dr. Douglas Boateng

Introduction
The failure of governments since 1966 to develop and implement a coherent supply chain and logistics strategy in support of the country’s gateway initiative continues to be a major impediment towards Ghana’s goals of becoming a middle income country.
Abundance of resources yet still relatively socio-economically poor!

Ghana is one of the few countries in the world to be endowed with much needed resources that can easily serve as a catalyst for major long term socio-economic growth. …..Gold, Cocoa, Industrial diamonds bauxite, manganese and now oil! ……In addition the country is blessed with one of the most fertile agro soils in the world….Yet the country’s unemployment rate among the 18-35 years has remained among the highest in the world since 1970. In tandem with this, the country’s infrastructure is among the least developed in the world.

Having benchmarked the country’s development and economic growth with other developed and emerging economies one realized that the relative underdevelopment is mainly due to amongst others our inability to use simple supply chain principles to harness the enormous wealth at the country’s disposal.
Since the late nineties one has had the opportunity to have both formal and informal discussions with our politicians and decision makers. In most cases they are proud to pontificate about countries like Singapore Malaysia, USA, Chain India and even more recently South Africa….and how they are able to add value to imported commodities, plus move goods from various points of production to points of need within and outside their respective countries. Yet when it comes to Ghana it seems they are content to export the country’s raw materials to other countries for processing and then import it back at premium to sell locally in the regional market!

Supply chain management and Ghana’s Gateway Initiative

Ghana’s gateway initiative in theory is a resplendent model if supported by the right modus operandi. Successive governments have pontificated about the status of the country as the potential gateway into the sub region. Yet when one looks at the policies of government to date, no where has one seen any concrete long term plans to harness the potential vantage position of Ghana as a sub regional country. As a country that is supposedly the gateway into the sub region aero logistics connections is not only poor but among the most expensive in the world!!
What puzzles ordinary citizens like myself is why our leaders continue to accept that value added to our resources can only take place outside Ghana……..!!! The time has come for our leaders to rather look at Ghana as a sub regional workshop where companies with interest in marketing their products to 250 million regional inhabitants will use the country as it decoupling point.
Could Ghana have benefited more from Cocoa with a coherent supply chain strategy?
Like most economies, Ghana could have easily used cocoa to sustainably transform the economy if there was a strategic supply chain blue print. More recently one has been hearing about Cocoa Board ambitions to produce 1 million tons per annum. What difference will it make to graduate students looking for a job if most of the beans are going to end up in Europe where value adding will take place?”
Would Ghana benefit from the OIL?
There seem to be a propensity for our leaders to pontificate that the recently discovered oil is the panacea for all Ghana’s economic woes. The sad reality is that jobs are not created from the crude oil. Rather it is from the supply chain services that are associated with crude oil….!
Govt must have a supply chain and beneficiation strategy for each of Ghana’s major commodities
Through out history countries that depend on the exportation of raw commodities have relatively failed to achieve major long term socio-economic growth. The shortism in economic policies coupled with governments’ lack of strategic thought vis-à-vis supply chain management and local beneficiation continue to be an impediment for socio- economic growth. The time has come for our elected leaders to be more strategic and start thinking about:

1. How Ghana can use supply chain management as a weapon for competitive advantage
2. Positioning Ghana as sub regional workshop and decoupling point
3. Branding Ghana as a source of quality products, i.e. proudly Ghanaian,
4. Empower Ghanaians through supply chain related services
5. Creating real and much needed jobs through local beneficiation of minerals and agro commodities
6. Laying a solid socio-economic foundation for future generations
7. Thinking seriously about harnessing the potential of the gateway initiative…..d leaders to be more strategic and start thinking about:

In so doing we will be laying a solid foundation for future generations. After all, Ghana’s resources do not belong to the current generation……Rather we are just custodians (irrespective of local tribe or party affiliation) collectively tasked to harness these resources to build a better and sustainable socio-economic future for the next generation!

Dr. Douglas Boateng is the Founder, President and CEO of PanAvest International a 5PSCM niche business advisory, education, training, coaching and mentoring company. Dr Boateng’s goal is to assist companies to profitably extend their market reach through the application of long term innovative, Business Development Logistics and Supply Chain Management solutions. Dr Boateng is a FELLOW of the (a) Institute of Directors-UK & Southern Africa (b) Chartered Management Institute -UK (c) Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport-UK and the (d) Institute of Operations Management-UK

VAT Taskforce gets tough on importers for evading taxes

Reverend John Buabeng, head of the Value Added Tax (VAT) Service Taskforce has tasked traders, who import goods into the country, to supply their tax identification number to the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) or have their goods impounded.He said it was a crime to import one item and label it differently or in some cases, one item could be registered using different names and with the quantities reduced to evade the payment of the appropriate taxes.Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview, Rev. Buabeng said a combined taskforce from the VAT Service, National Security and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service have impounded five vehicles in Takoradi. The vehicles were carrying 1,310 bags of rice with one of them loaded with a quantity of shirts and other clothing, he said, adding that, "The taskforce could not trace the invoice to the supplier of one of the vehicles and this is a lost of revenue to the state" he said. He said the impounding of the vehicles was part of an ongoing nationwide exercise to arrest defaulters of tax.He said importers should endeavour to register and obtain tax identification number before importing goods into the country. "Tax evasion and smuggling of goods is a heinous offence, which is tantamount to prosecution and some times jail sentences", he said. He advised importers to give correct information of their businesses to make tracking easier for VAT officials. He warned people who serve as agent of importers to desist from such acts and register with the service.
Source:GNA

New global alliance to increase access to financial services

Nearly 100 central bankers and other financial policymakers gathered in Nairobi on Monday for the official launch of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), a coalition of countries from the developing world committed to making savings accounts, insurance, and other financial services available to millions of people living on less than $2 a day.A statement from AFI received in Accra on Monday said research had shown that better access to financial services can fuel economic growth by raising national income via increased savings and investments in poor households as well as in small and medium enterprises."This access also enhances financial stability by injecting formal savings into the system, diversifying the capital base, and providing stability during global downturns. Yet, an estimated 2.5 billion people - over half the world's adult population - do not have access to savings accounts and other financial services," the statement said.AFI said its global network would enable developing countries to share knowledge so they can more effectively develop and implement policies designed to expand access to financial services. It brings together central banks and others representing nearly 70 percent of world's unbanked and the network will develop and implement policies to reach millions across developing world.It said while many of the smartest policies to expand financial access had come from developing countries - such as mobile phone money transfer services in Kenya and agent banking in Brazil - knowledge of these solutions was scattered in pockets around the globe. "The unique aspect of AFI is that it puts us members in the driver's seat to identify and create solutions to increase the availability and choices of financial services in our own countries," said Tarisa Watanagase, governor of the Bank of Thailand and AFI member. "Since we understand our countries' circumstances better than outside organizations, AFI creates an exceptional forum for us to share policies that work and learn from other policymakers about solutions that work for them," Watanagase said.AFI members have chosen to focus on six policy areas to increase financial inclusion for their respective countries - agent banking, diversification of financial products and providers, state bank reforms, financial identity, consumer protection and mobile phone banking. Based in Bangkok, Thailand, AFI is managed on behalf of its members by the German development organization Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH and supported with a $35 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation."AFI's peer-to-peer knowledge exchange model is playing a key role in amplifying policy solutions that work," said Alfred Hannig, Executive Director of AFI. "The most realistic and successful solutions for including poor people in the formal financial system are being innovated among our members in developing countries," He said. This grant is part of the Gates Foundation's Financial Services for the poor initiative, which is working with a wide range of public and private partners, to harness technology and innovation to make safe places to save and other financial services accessible to poor people in the developing world.AFI is a global network of central banks and other policymaking bodies in over 60 developing countries. AFI provides its members with a learning platform for peer to peer knowledge exchange on financial inclusion policies that work, and grants to help implement them.

Source:GNA

UniBank joins Moneygram Transfer Services

UniBank, financial services provider, has teamed up with Global Payment Services provider MoneyGram to offer money transfer service at the bank's 13 branch locations in the country. An agreement to that effect was signed on Thursday between the Management of uniBank and the West African office of MoneyGram International.There are currently 12 agents offering money transfer services across 1,600 locations in Ghana. "Our collaboration with MoneyGram Transfer Services represents a vast opportunity to deliver our commitment to provide safe and reliable Money Transfer Services to beneficiaries," Mr Clifford Mettle, General Manager Sales and Client Services, UniBank, told journalists at the launch of the initiative in Accra On Monday. Mr Mettle said the bank would leverage on its branch expansion programme and the relationship with Ghana Post Company to scale the competition and meet the expectations of customers. He said UniBank was using the expansion in the money transfer service as key growth strategies to enable it grow its non-funded business.Mr Mettle assured all users of the service of good and quality customer care, saying that the bank would deliver on its core values of flexibility, caring, vibrant and teamwork. Ms Funmi Omitowoju, Regional Director MoneyGram International (Anglophone West Africa), said uniBank's impressive performance was a major strength in the collaboration.She said MoneyGram had put together English-Speaking countries in West Africa to enable it address peculiar needs of the people in the region and to also build strong relationship. Ms Omitowoju said despite the global financial meltdown, the money transfer business was still robust and doing well and lauded Ghana as one of the dominant forces in the business. She pledged MoneyGram's continuous support to uniBank in meeting the goals of the collaboration for the mutual benefit of the two institutions.MoneyGram is present in 190 countries with over 18,000 agents.
Source:GNA

Ghana to host Africa Regional Capital Market Development Conference

Ghana will host a special five-day Africa Regional Capital Market Development Conference in Accra from Monday, September 14, according to a statement issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The Conference, being organised by the SEC in collaboration with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, is under the theme, "Towards Effective Regulation and Development of an Efficient Market in Africa". It is being supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).The statement said the Conference was being organised in the wake of the global financial credit crisis, which is not only having serious resource mobilization constraints on the economics of most African countries but also a negative impact on stock markets in Africa. Areas to be examined at the conference include current capital market development issues; building blocks needed to establish and develop efficient equity and bond markets in Africa; capital market integration and regulation in Africa; development of a viable commodities market in Africa; and challenges of securities regulation in emerging markets.
Source:GNA

"Galamsey" operators at Kenyasi to be licensed

An office of the Minerals Commission is to be opened at Kenyasi to allow illegal miners (Galamsey) to register and obtain licenses to regularize their activities. The commission has an office at Bibiani in the Western Region that gives licenses to small scale miners.Mr. Nelson Ahedor, Senior Mining Engineer of the Minerals Commission, said the commission would provide technical assistance on mining to the licensed "galamsey" operators. He was addressing the chiefs and people of Kenyasi and Nkaseim, mining communities in the district, at separate forums on Tuesday. The forums, organised by the Brong-Ahafo Regional Security Council (REGSEC), was aimed at negotiating with the operators in finding ways to bring their activities under control.Mr. Ahedor said the government recognized the important role small scale mining played in the growth of the economy and it was against this background that the commission had demarcated 44 mining concessions across the country for its operators.He said since galamsey was illegal its operators worked sometimes during the night to outwit security agencies and this often resulted in some of them getting trapped in pits and loss of lives.He appealed to the operators to go through the procedures and obtain licenses so that they would operate in an atmosphere of peace. Mr. Eric Opoku, the Brong-Ahafo deputy Regional Minister, said the government had no intention to clamp down on "galamsey" operators but was worried about the dangers associated with their activities. He said the rate at which galamsey was gaining prominence in the Asutifi District since the advent of Newmont Ghana Gold in the area was alarming and there was the need to educate operators to obtain licenses to regularize their activities.Mr. Opoku said unemployment and poverty were the major contributory factors that led the youth to go into galamsey in mining communities. He assured the people that the government had initiated some policies such as the youth in agric programme to create job opportunities for the youth.Mr. Haruna Seidu Aboagye, Chairman of Sakamraso Galamsey Committee at Kenyasi, said the committee's membership of 4,000 in 2006 had jumped to 10,000 operators.He said members were not violent and appealed to the government to negotiate with the management of the Ahafo Project of NGGL so they could obtain concessions. At Nkaseim Nana Adjei Danso Ababio, the chief, said because of the poverty level in the area most families depended on galamsey for their survival and any attempt to collapse the industry would bring extra burden to the people. Mr. Kwadwo Bosea Kese, spokesman of the illegal miners, appealed to the district assembly to extend electricity to their operational sites.
Source:GNA

Forestry Commission gets new Board

Alhaji Collins Dauda, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, on Wednesday inaugurated an 11-member Board of the Forestry Commission and tasked it to preserve the nation's natural resources by dealing urgently with the activities of illegal timber operators.Alhaji Dauda congratulated the new Board members and said they were being ushered into office at a time when the forestry sector was facing serious challenges pertaining to the sustainable management of forest and wildlife resources.Members of the Board, chaired by Mr Yaw Boamah, a businessman, swore the oaths of allegiance and secrecy. Other members are Mr Attah Nantogmah Alhassan, Osahene Kwakui Aterkyi II, a representative National House of Chiefs, Mr Owusu Amankrah, a representative of timber trade and industry, Mr Gerald Boakye, a representative of the wildlife trade and industry and Dr. Kwame Asamoa Adam, a representative Ghana Institute of Foresters. The rest are Mr Ofori Frimpong, a representative, NGOs involved in forestry and wildlife management, Dr Wordworth Odame Larbie, a representative Lands Commission, and Dr (Mrs) Cecilia Amoah, Mr Siisi Crentsil, and Mr Samuel Kwasi Appiah, all Government Appointees. Alhaji Dauda said current records indicated that the existing forests estimated to be about 1.6 million hectares, would be gone within the next 23 years, if adequate measures were not put in place to stem the high deforestation rate of 65,000 hectares per annum. The Minister attributed the alarming situation to the upsurge of illegal forestry activities, particularly chainsaw operations, wild fires and encroachments in the forest reserves and, in some instances, wildlife protected areas as a result of illegal farming activities. Alhaji Dauda said the situation called for serious efforts to conserve the little that was left and embark on vigorous re-afforestation through large-scale plantation development to restore what had been lost.He charged the Board to, as a matter of urgency, tackle the unrelenting siege mounted on forest reserves by illegal operators. They should do this by involving the local fringe communities in protecting the resource and encouraging them to preserve commercial timber trees in off-reserve areas and also protect wildlife resources in these areas. Alhaji Dauda said dwindling forest resources had affected the finances of the Forestry Commission, particularly internally generated funds that in the past accounted for more than 60 per cent of the Commission's financial requirements. He added that the wildlife sub-sector had a lot of potential for eco-tourism development to generate revenue and foreign exchange for development and poverty reduction. The Minister also mentioned the issue of climate change and global warming, which had negative impacts on forest conservation, and urged the Forestry Commission to explore avenues for appropriate benefit sharing schemes for all stakeholders. Mr Yaw Boamah, Chairman of the Board, said it would ensure that the challenges facing the sector were given urgent attention and tackled with much expertise to save the depleting forest reserves and other natural resources from further exploitation and distraction.

Source: GNA

Compulsory insurance cover for commercial buildings is imperative

The Executive Secretary of Ghana Insurers Association (GIA), has disclosed that owners of commercial buildings and those under construction were obliged to take compulsory insurance cover against natural hazards such as fire, earthquake and flood. Mr. Gabriel Glover made this call last week during the closing ceremony of a two-day information session organized the GIA for the media in Accra. Journalists were taken through the basic law and importance of insurance in the country from all categories and most relevantly the media role in promoting insurance. “Insurance Act 2006 which established the Fire Service Maintenance Fund required owners of such buildings and those under construction to contribute a percentage of their gross premium received by each insurer into the fund” he added. The Act stipulates that "every commercial building shall be insured with an insurer against the hazards of collapse, fire, earthquake, storm and flood and an insurance policy issued for it".
Mr. Glover reiterated that the fund would be used to equip state institutions assigned with fire fighting functions and other organizations determined for the purpose of fighting fires. He said the law preferred drastic actions against insurers who failed to comply and these included actions such as the revocation of the insurance licenses of recalcitrant companies among others. Participated Journalists were awarded certificates.

Source: Ghanaianreactoronline (GRO)

Don't discriminate in the sale of Pre-mix fuel, committees told

Premix committees at the landing beaches have been cautioned against refusal to sell the product to Ghanaian fishermen who have migrated to other areas on fishing expedition. Mr Kwaku Nicol, National Chairman of the Premix Distribution Committee, gave the caution, when he inaugurated the Gomoa Dago landing beach committee at Dago in the Gomoa West District of the Central Region.He said it had come to his notice that some committee members were denying migrant fishermen of the product and pointed out that the fuel had been subsidized by the government with the tax payer's contributions, therefore no Ghanaian, who is a legitimate fisherman, must be denied the fuel. Premix is not for the committee members or the landing beaches alone but for all Ghanaian fishermen, Mr Nicol stressed. He, however, cautioned against indiscriminate selling of the product.Mr Nicol warned against selling of the fuel to people in drums, which are conveyed in trucks. He assured fishermen of the regular supply of the fuel and advised them to deist from panic buying, saying, it is an offence to hoard the fuel. Mr Nicol said only the landing beach committees were mandated to sell the fuel and urged them to report any problem with regard to the sales to their respective district chief executives. He advised the committees to open accounts with the banks and save the profit that accrue from their daily sales, adding that, they can then consult with the chiefs and the general public on how to utilise the money.Mr Theophilus Adioo-Mensah, District Chief Executive asked the committees to work diligently to help the fishermen and to promote their business. Similar committees have been inaugurated at Apam, Mumford, Fetteh Nyanyano and Dampase near Kokrobite.
Source:GNA