Editor speaks on Nkrumah in London via telephone.

The Editor of Ghanaianreactoronline.com,Michael Father Amedor will be speaking on Press TV,London today at 14:30 GMT to voice out his view on the topic "whether Nkrumah’s vision for Ghana was able to be achieved, or was power used to serve other purposes?" through a telephony interview.

The Editor recieved the invitation yesterday via email and can be confirmed. This interview will be granted by Sarah Khalil a Tv producer at Africa Today for Press TV, (www.presstv.com) who is currently producing a show in the light of the Nkrumah@100 celebrations.

The intended interview is expected to last several hours. Other topics to also incude the interview are "commenting on Ghana’s current development status" among others.

Source: Ghanaianraectoronline.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

Ras Wayo out of Big Brother Revolution

In a surprise announcement, Ghana’s representative to the just started Big Brother Africa Revolution, Ras Wayoe became the second Housemate to leave the BBA House during the show's first Eviction Show!
Wayoe entered the stage to a crowd chanting his name to a Reggae tune. Wayoe told IK he was not surprised to have left the House and does not think his Rastafarian way of life played a part in viewers not voting for him.
The first Housemate to leave the BBA: The Revolution House was Teddy from Kenya. Teddy leaves the House much to his and the crowd's surprise because he was on of the strongest personalities in the house. IK, the host, asked him if he regrets sitting on the fence with making up his mind about The Smokers' Alliance. Teddy leaves with the $2500 in his kitty.

Source: gna

Ghana charms Busta Rhymes at live concert

International hip hop icon, Busta Rhymes, nodded repeatedly Saturday night at the Accra International Conference Centre, left in no doubt his industry and dexterity has affected so many Ghanaian lovers of hip hop.Taking the stage in a Busta Rhymes Live in Ghana Concert, an initiative of CharterHouse and sponsored by telecoms giant MTN, the ace musician thrilled the crowd with several of his favourite hits, including It's a Party, I Know What You Want, Blessed, Gimme Some More, Make It Clap, Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See, Woo Hah Got You All in Check and Arab Money. “I love this”, “I made a great decision to come to Ghana” and “I love your beautiful city” were some of his confessions as the overflowing main auditorium of the Conference Centre virtually wrenched lyrics of the over a dozen songs he performed, including the latest and controversial ‘Arab Money,’ from him and rendered it perfectly.“You will definitely see us again” was his emphatic promise after what he described as “a most wonderful and successful show” that charmed the enthusiastic crowd to abandon their seats and wriggle the night away.And so powerful was his performance, supported by Spliff Star, that the joyous crowd was almost overflowing onto the stage, barred only by crash barriers thoughtfully planted there for the purpose.An enchanted fan threw him a piece of kente cloth, which he strapped over his shoulders.

Source: Isaac Yeboah