Global Media Forum to be held in Bonn

The Second Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum on conflict prevention in the multimedia-age and opportunities and challenges posed by new technologies and consumer habits would be held between June 3 and June 5 2009 in Bonn Germany The Forum would primarily highlight the rapid technological development in the world of media and debate the ensuing questions related to modified usage.The conference would examine the future of content delivery, especially for topics pertaining to peace and security. It would find answers to a number of questions including: Do the changes in technology and user profiles influence the way in which the media report on conflicts - or do they directly influence the way in which a war is fought? What about the impact on peace-building processes and conflict prevention strategies? What are the main challenges for the international media during this technological revolution? How have the expectations of viewers, listeners and users changed, and what is the best way to reach them in the digital age?The Forum 2009 would bring together media users and producers; peace building and conflict prevention specialists; representatives from the fields of media technology and security; public relations; the military; the arms industry as well as members of government and political parties to network and discuss the challenges and solutions for the future.

Okponglo stretch of Tetteh Quarshie - Madina Road opens to traffic

The Okponglo stretch of the Tetteh Quarshie-Madina Road would be opened to traffic at 0600 hours on Saturday May 22 2009. The opening of the road was as a result of an appeal the Ministry of Roads and Highways made to Sonitra, the construction firm, to ease the traffic congestion.The Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Joe Gidisu on Friday led a team of Engineers and the Media to inspect that stretch for onward handing over to the Ministry. Mr Gidisu after the inspection said he was satisfied with the work done and all the arrangements the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police had put in place for the effective use of the road.He urged other stakeholders to follow all the necessary directives when using the two-kilometre three-lane dual carriage road to meet the development aspirations of Ghanaians rather than turning it into an accident-prone zone. Mr Gidisu told all motorists to keep to the 50-kilometre per hour speed limit to avoid needless accidents and charged the Police and other law enforcement agencies to rigorously enforce traffic laws by punishing all offenders. "This asset will amount to nothing if drivers, pedestrians and other road users do not heed traffic rules," he noted. He told the Police not to allow the road to be taken over by hawkers and mobile phone unit vendors, describing their presence on the roads as a nuisance. The Commander of MTTU, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Daniel Avorgah said the Police would enforce the traffic laws and prosecute offenders. He said for effective traffic control, motorists going to Legon, Madina, Adenta and beyond would still use the Emmanuel Eye Clinic Diversion from 0600 hours to 1400 hours. ACP Avorgah said the new stretch would be opened for use between 1400 hours and 0600 hours. He explained that vehicular traffic to Legon, Madina and beyond becomes heavy on the Secaps Hotel-Tetteh Quarshie portion after 1400 hours and that opening the road at that time would reduce the stress motorists go through.ACP Avorgah advised drivers to drive with caution and to keep within the speed limit of 50 kilometres per hour, especially in the night since there were no streetlights on the road, adding that at that speed, drivers would be able to control emergency situations when they were crossed by pedestrians. "Even if the worse happens and a car happens to knock someone the impact will not be great so as to cause the death of the person," he said.He said if drivers were able to follow these instructions accidents would be minimized considerably. He advised drivers to use the weekend to practise until Tuesday when the road takes its full traffic load. ACP Avorgah gave the assurance that the Police were very ready to check overloading; speeding and all forms of reckless driving. The Resident Engineer of Ghana Highway Authority, Mr Ebenezer Gyampo said the road could last for more than 50 years before any major intervention in terms of repairs might begin on it. He, however, said overloading could put a stress on the road and reduce its lifespan drastically. He called on the Police to check overloading, speeding and reckless driving. The Project Manager for Sonitra, Dr Richard Kwofie said the project would be fully completed in December 2010.
Source:GNA

Ghana needs 3,000 more accountants

Ghana needs 3,000 more accountants to enhance the financial sector whiles deepening the nation's economy, Mr Kwasi Asante, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Institute of Chattered Accountancy (ICA), has announced.He pointed out that currently there were only 2,000 recognised accountants in the country and that this development does not auger well for the accounting sector in an emerging economy like Ghana. This was contained in a speech read on his behalf at the 13th Annual National Delegates' Congress of the Association of Polytechnic HND Accountancy Students (APHAS) in Kumasi on Friday. It was on the theme; "Surviving the credit crunch era - the role of the HND Accountancy Graduate".The CEO appealed to school authorities and parents to encourage the youth to take up accounting courses to benefit the nation in the long term in view of the crucial role accountants play in the socio-economic development.He cautioned accounting students to endeavour to join recognised accountancy bodies to help advance their course, skills, expertise and knowledge for the challenges ahead. Professor Kwame Boasiako Omane-Antwi, Vice Rector of Pentecost University, advised the youth, especially tertiary students to be wary of the global economic recession which may challenge them to shun integrity in their endeavours."We must try to resist attempts by some unscrupulous people to force us into fraudulent deals that could erode the gains and investment made in us", he stated.Professor Omane-Antwi observed that today's economic environment was unstable, hostile, complex and diversified, noting that this therefore put pressure on tertiary students to continually upgrade their skills to overcome the challenges.Mr. Noel Nortey, National Predident of APHAS, insisted that the lack of creativity, innovativeness, effective management skills and ability to anticipate customers' needs were hampering effective accounting work and therefore tasked accountants to be up and doing to save their image.
Source:GNA

Maritime academy to purchase patrol boats for Volta Lake

The Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) on Friday said the authority would purchase three patrol boats to control operations and practices of overloading and drunkenness by operators on the Volta Lake.The authority is also going to construct passengers' reception facilities at major boat loading and landing stations on the Lake as well as put up jetties and suitable landing facilities for berthing of vessels.Mr Isaaka Peter Azumah, Director-General of GMA, made this known when the Minister of Transport Mr Mike Hammah, his deputy Mrs Dzifa Ativor and officials of the ministry toured the offices of the GMA in Accra. The tour was to afford the Minister to learn about challenges facing the GMA, map out for the way forward and share with management and staff the government's vision of Ghana becoming a middle income country by 2020.The GMA, which was established in 2002 by Act 630, is charged the responsibility of regulating activities of maritime as well as ensuring safety and security in the country's maritime environment, among others. Mr Azumah said the GMA has been registering and training boat operators adding that six boat centres along the Volta Lake had benefited with 872 persons going through their programmes. According to him through the establishment of a Labour Task Force by the Authority, there had been a reduction in the spate of accidents on the Volta Lake, adding since 2007, no accidents had been recorded. Mr Azumah said the GMA was poised to overcome its challenges and called on government to provide the authority with adequate funds to recruit 50 more technical staff.He said the GMA was currently waiting for the passage of Marine Pollution Bill to regulate activities on inland water ways. The Director-General asked government to also assist them with logistics such as patrol boats and security equipment to ensure the smooth operations of the Authority.Mr Hammah said transportation played a key role in the activities of the country gateway activities.He therefore urged staff and management to be proactive so as to boost investors' confidence in their operations. Mr Hammah also tasked the GMA to ensure that the youth benefited from their training programmes so as secure employment as Ghana entered the oil business. "For the youth to be employed they need to be equipped with the basic training in maritime programmes," he said.
Source:GNA

No fiscal policy direction for Ghana’s oil

- Revenue Watch Institute

New York based Revenue Watch Institute (RWI) has bemoaned the fact that with barely a year to commence commercial oil production off its West Coast, Ghana is yet to put in place a clear policy direction as to how expected oil revenues would be distributed and utilized.Emmanuel Kuyole, Africa Regional Coordinator for RWI said the country has neither overhauled the agencies charged with overseeing the industry nor published policies on how the discoveries would be used to benefit the country.Mr Kuyole’s comments highlights pressure in Ghana and outside for government action to help the country escape the so-called “paradox of plenty”, that has left many other resource-rich countries in the grip of graft and mass poverty.According to him, even though the Ghana has stated clearly its intention to avoid the fate of Nigeria and other troubled resource regions by setting out modalities, before the commencement of commercial oil production for royalties, dividends, corporate taxes and other levies, not much has been achieved in that direction.Speaking at a training workshop for members of the Institute of Financial and Economic Journalist (IFEJ) in Accra last Friday, Mr Kuyole explained that current projections by the German Technical Coorporation indicates that Ghana could reap as much as US$ 25 billion over the projected 25 year life span of the Jubilee oil field, for which reason prudent strategies are required ahead of time to ensure such revenues are well utilised.He expressed concern about the fact that $27 million of annual receipts from the country’s minerals resources had not impacted much on the livelihood of the citizenry since independence, calling for definitive actions to forestall a similar situation with the entry of oil set to generate $1billion in annual revenue.According to him, even though the past government worked out a draft oil policy, it is far from being a complete document as the current government has made known its intension to revise most portions of the text.Citing an instance, he said the decision to set up a new National Petroleum Authority to be in charge of oversight responsibility, with the existing Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) concentrating on its core duties has been, neglected, with the Mills’ Administration seeking to strengthen the GNPC for additional responsibility.Another major concern Mr Kuyole raised was the fact that only a model contract document between government and the Oil companies has been made public, saying that this posed a threat when it comes to issues of transparency.He called for broader participation in issues relating to the expected oil revenues to ensure that such resources were used judiciously.To him, a more comprehensive oil policy document could work to ensure that the oil industry is well integrated with other sectors of the economy and satisfy the demand for local content.Credit: Financial Intelligence(Charles K. Amoah and Ebenezer Asare)
Source:Financial Intelligence

Solar Sector Could Have Sunny Spring

Tough German winter chilled profits, but better weather and Chinese subsidies will help industry.Solar product manufacturers were blindsided by snow in the first quarter, but results should thaw in the spring.
A cold winter with heavy snowfall in Germany led to a decline in installations in the world's biggest solar market. The second quarter should see an uptick in activity, Collins Stewart analyst Daniel Ries told Forbes. Germany accounts for 40.0% to 45.0% of total world demand.Last week, news that the Chinese government plans to subsidize solar power installations spread optimistic rays across the industry, energizing shares of companies that have suffered from weak pricing and tight credit markets. The Chinese government said sun-powered projects producing more than 50 kilowatts in energy output qualify for government-provided funding equal to 20 yuan ($2.92) per watt.
"This level of subsidy is substantial given that even in Germany panels are today being sold at close to 2 euros/Wp [$2.70]," said JPMorgan analyst Sandeep Deshpande, referring to watts peak, or maximum power output. "Thus the Chinese government will virtually fund the entire panel, which seems an extremely high upfront subsidy."
While Wall Street had been bracing itself for a sour start to the second quarter, a hopeful reading on housing and March auto sale number that, while gloomy, were not quite as disastrous as anticipated, lifted stocks with all three major indices gaining on the day.
And as the weather warms up, solar sector stocks got sunnier, too. American depositary receipts of JA Solar added 5.6%, or 19 cents, to close at $3.56, in New York on Wednesday. Evergreen increased 3.8%, or 8 cents, to $2.21, and LDK Solar rose 12.8%, or 81 cents, to $7.15.
Chinese companies also fared well, as Solarfun Power Holdings added 7.4%, and Trina Solar Limited 5.9%.
Bucking the upward trend was ReneSola, which lost 1.3%, or a nickel, to close at $3.95.

Source:Forbes.com

Rajevac names 32-man Ghana squad

Miloavn Rajevac has named a 32-man squad for Ghana’s double 2010 World Cup qualifier, with Mali and Sudan next month.
Announcing the squad to www.ghanafa.org, Rajevac said: "I have selected a squad of 32 who I strongly believe would ensure our progress in the qualifying campaign over the next two games."
Ghana plays both games away with the match against the Malians coming up first in Bamako on June 7 before the Black Stars fly out for the third qualifying match with Sudan on June 20 in Omdurman.
FC Cologne attacker Dereck Boateng together with Yusif Chibsah, Joe Tex Frimpong and Prince Buabeng all make a return to the team.
There is a first-time call for Opoku Agyemang and Papa Arko.
The Black Stars lead the Group D standings with 3 points after securing an opening day win at home over Benin.
Squad in full:Goalkeepers: Richard Kingston (Wigan Athletic, England), William Amamoo (Etasaalat, Egypt) and George Owu (Al Masry, Egypt)
Defenders : John Paintsil (Fulham, England), Samuel Inkoom (Asante Kotoko, Ghana), Harrison Afful (Asante Kotoko, Ghana), John Mensah (Lyon, France) Jonathan Mensah (Free State Stars, South Africa), Jonathan Quartey (Kaizer Chiefs, South Africa), Eric Addo (Roda JC, Holland)
Midfielders : Daniel Yeboah (Heart of Lions, Ghana), Isaac Vorsah (Hoffeinham, Germany),Moussa Narry (Auxerre, France), Stephen Appiah (Unattached), Michael Essien (Chelsea, England), Anthony Annan (Rosenborg, Norway), Sulley Muntari (Inter Milan, Italy) Kwadwo Asamoah (Udinese, Italy), Bernard Kumordzi (Panionios FC, Greece) Rahim Ayew (Eleven Wise, Ghana) Prince Buabeng (Dundee United, Scotland) Yusif Chibsah (Gefle, Sweden) Dereck Boateng (FC Koln, Germany) Opoku Agyemang (Al Sadd, Qatar) Haminu Draman (FC Locomotiv Moskva, Russia)
Strikers: Asamoah Gyan (Rennes, France), Mathew Amoah (NAC Breda, Holland), Samuel Yeboah (Hapoel Tel Aviv, Israel), Prince Tagoe (Al-Ittifaq, Saudi Arabia) Joe Tex Frimpong (BSC Young Boys, Switzerland) Papa Arko (El Geish, Egypt)
Source:Ghanafa.orgs