More Moroccan Firms To Invest In Ghana

By Edmund Mingle

More Moroccan businesses have expressed interest in coming to Ghana to explore the vast investment opportunities in the country.

Mrs. Nezha Alaoui M’hammdi,
 Moroccan Ambassador to Ghana

The increasing interest is the result of governments of the two countries’ effort at enhancing their economic co-operation.

The Moroccans would soon visit Ghana with a high-level business delegation to explore opportunities for investment and business partnerships, particularly in the areas of telecommunication, housing, transportation, fisheries, agro-processing and tourism.

Mrs. Nezha Alaoui M’hammdi, Moroccan Ambassador to Ghana, who said this during an interaction with journalists in Accra ahead of her country’s National Day celebration to be marked tomorrow, said there was growing interest about Ghana among the Moroccan investor community.

“We are working to bringing more investments into Ghana,” she said.

The coming of the business delegation follows the recent announcement by a leading Moroccan real estate company, the Addoha Group, to invest 250 million euros in affordable housing and cement production in Ghana.

Also, Palmeraie Holding, one of the largest Moroccan investment groups, recently expressed interest in investing in a number of key areas in Ghana, such as affordable housing, tourism and manufacturing sectors.

According to the Ambassador, apart from foreign direct investments by large Moroccan companies, smaller companies were dealing with their counterparts in Ghana at the enterprise level to take advantage of opportunities in the two economies.

The increasing Moroccan investment in Ghana, she explained, was in line with Morocco’s reformed foreign policy that focused on improved south-south economic and social co-operation.

According to Mrs. M’hammdi, the renewed policy of south-south co-operation was enabling the country to share expertise, investment and knowledge transfer with other African countries within the broad scope of regional integration.

In addition, she explained that the policy promotes skills and technology transfer, and capacity building, as a result of which 45 Ghanaian students are offered state scholarships to study in Morocco annually.

Touching on the bilateral relations between the two countries, Mrs. M’hammdi noted that the historical commitment of the two countries that led them both to gain independence in 1957, “is still driving our co-operation for economic independence.”

“I see the relationship growing to become more diversified,” she said.

Mrs. M’hammdi said although language continued to be a barrier in the dealings between the people of the two countries, the embassies in the respective countries were working to address the problem, and especially to ensure that it did not hinder the trade partnerships between the business sectors of the two sides.

Veep Calls For Vigilance Against Ebola

By Edmund Mingle, Black Star Square

The Vice-President, Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, has called for intense vigilance to prevent the outbreak of the deadly Ebola disease in Ghana, saying the nation cannot afford to lose any life to the disease.

He said though health experts and institutions are on high alert and have instituted measures to prevent and contain any outbreak, the citizenry also need to be vigilant and adopt preventive measures against the disease.

The Vice President made the call when he joined hundreds of Muslims at the Black Star Square in Accra yesterday, for national prayers to celebrate the Eid-ul Fitr.

“We need to protect ourselves from the Ebola virus which has taken the lives of hundreds of people in some ECOWAS countries.

“We have a duty to learn about the virus and change some of our social and dietary habits, improve sanitation and hygienic conditions in order to reduce the chances of contracting the disease,” he enjoined all.

In the area of security, Vice President Amissah-Arthur urged the nation to pray for other countries, particularly Nigeria, where bomb attacks by the militant group Boko Haram, continue to claim lives of innocent citizens, while about 200 school girls adducted three months ago remain in the group’s captivity.

“Our youth must not allow themselves to be influenced by any individual or group, to disrupt the peace and stability of our country,” he told the gathering.

The Vice President congratulated the Islamic community for the celebration of the festival which marked the end of the Ramadan (fasting period), and assured them that the government is working to address all challenges facing Ghanaians.

He particularly lauded the high level of religious tolerance and co-operation in the country, and indicated that such peaceful co-existence among the faiths was vital in guaranteeing a peaceful environment, for national development.

He urged Muslims to continue to pray for the nation in the face of the current economic challenges, expressing optimism that the situation would soon improve, as good results from the difficult economic policies to address the challenges were beginning to emerge.

Quoting a section of the Quran which says that “Indeed, after difficulty, there is ease,” the Vice President said, “the sacrifices, patience and prayers of Ghanaians would produce results.”

Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharabutu, the National Chief Imam who led the prayers, thanked Allah for His blessings for the nation and prayed for divine intervention, to help deal with the economic challenges facing the country.

He also prayed for wisdom for the nation’s leaders, and interceded on behalf of the various arms of government, institutions, political parties and all Ghanaians.  

Ada Is Safe For Tourism

By Edmund Mingle, Ada

The business community in Ada in the Greater Accra Region, one of the country’s main tourist destinations, has allayed the fears of domestic and foreign tourists in visiting the town, saying Ada is safe for tourism.

The assurance follows a huge slump in patronage of tourism and hospitality service at Ada, as a result of the recent disappearance of hiplife musician, Castro, and a lady friend while jet skiing in the Volta River, over two weeks ago.

Mrs Ghansah, MP for Ada and Mr John Ahortu,
Ada West DCE on a boat with the journalists on tour
the river sites at the weekend

Hitherto, the town had been bustling with domestic and foreign tourists, but patronage drastically dwindled since the incident in which, Castro also known as Theophilus Tagoe, and his friend, Janet Bandu, were feared to have drowned while jet skiing in the river at Ada.

But the business community says, although the incident was unfortunate, tourists need not fear because the area and the facilities remained safe.

Mrs. Comfort Doeyu Cudjoe Ghansah, Member of Parliament for Ada, speaking on behalf the business community during a tour of the area by a group of journalists, said the incident, which she described as an “accident”, should not discourage people from visiting the town.

“Ada is safe for tourism,” said Mrs. Ghansah, who is a Minister of State in charge of Social and Allied Agencies.

She said that all the resorts along the river enforce strict safety measures, particularly in the activities of clients on the river.

During the tour, only a handful of tourists were found on the banks of the river, with a few of them in a boat. In addition, traders of sea foods, fruits and vegetables, who also benefit from the patronage of tourists, are suffering from the dip in visitor numbers.

Yours Truly, cruising on a boat

That, the Minister said, was a very drastic dwindling in patronage since the area had been bustling with visitors prior to the drowning incident.

She feared that if the situation did not improve, it could have an adverse effect on Ada since most of the workers in the hospitality businesses were locals. Additionally, she feared that it could also affect the impending Asafotufiam Festival of Ada which would be held from August 1 to 7, 2014.

John Nurudeen Ahortu, District Chief Executive of Ada West, who accompanied the MP to conduct the media team around, said the district assembly monitors the operations of the tourism and hospitality industry in the area to ensure strict compliance with safety rules.

He said the area has one of the finest eco-tourism sites in the country, citing the 24 island sites, bird sanctuary and turtle site, in addition to the impressive beach and river scenery.

Some foreign tourists enjoying themselves during a cruise

Gerhard Peter Ursprunger, General Manager of Aqua Safari Resort, where Castro rented the Jet Ski, said the company’s facilities, including its speed boats, were safe.

He noted that the company and the other resorts along the river at Ada have lifeguards and collaborates to ensure the adherence to safety measures on the river.

“You are extremely safe here provided you, as a tourist, followed safety instructions when going on the river,” he said. 

Abu Sakara supports 6-year presidential term

By Edmund Mingle

Dr. Michael Abu Sakara Foster, the 2012 presidential candidate of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) has advocated a six-year one-term presidency for Ghana.

That, he believed would provide adequate time for governments to effectively implement their development plan for the benefit of the country.

According to him, the present four-year term does not allow  any meaningful planning and implementation, explaining that  the first year was used to study the system and planning, including the appointments of Minister, Chiefs of State, Executives and other officers.

Dr Abu Sakara Foster

The fourth year had been  used for campaigning for the next elections, leaving a government with only two years for actual work.

“Nothing meaningful can be achieved in two years,” he said, adding that with a six year term, a government would have four years of focused development.

Speaking on political reforms during and consultive meeting with the Institute of Economic Affairs’ Winner-Takes-All (WTA) Advisory Committee in Accra, Dr. Sakara, said the proposal of a five or six-year one term, would also save the country the cost organising election every four year.

The meeting was part of the committee’s series of consultations to solicit views concerning on-going constitutional review process, particularly to address the WTA political system which contributes to the political polarisation of the country.

Mr. Sakara pointed out that the bane of Ghana’s progress has been the lack of continuity in governance, explaining that a prolonged presidential tenure would help to address that challenge.

According to him, countries such as Singapore that started with Ghana after independence, have progressed incredibly due to the benefit of continuity in governance.

“Let us ask ourselves whether our system allows continuity. If no, then we must reform it,” adding that “we start all over after every general elections.”

Dr. Sakara supported calls for an entrenched National Development Plan in a new constitution that would be followed by every government.

He added that there was the need for the more focused development.

Regarding the constitutional reform process, Dr. Sakara cautioned against rushing the process

UK Hosts First Girls' Summit To End FGM

By Jon Benjamin, British High Commissioner to Ghana

Jon Benjamen

Girls and women have the right to live free from violence and discrimination and achieve their potential.  Around the world millions are prevented from doing so by harmful practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM) and child, early and forced marriage (CEFM).   

Forcing a girl into marriage can rob her of the right to choose her own future, and put her at greater risk of not going to school and dying through early childbirth.  Poverty, lack of education and social norms are among the root causes of child marriage.  The African countries with the highest rates of child marriage include Niger, where 3 in every 4 women are married before the age of 18, and Mali and Burkina Faso, where 1 in every 2 women are affected.  

The figures are slightly better here in Ghana but the issue remains a great concern.  In Ghana, 1 in 4 women are married before the age of 18 years; 1 in 17 before they are 15 years old.  CEFM is more common in poorer households and among those with little education.  Education is one of the most powerful tools to delay the age at which girls marry. 

FGM is a human rights violation and can have a lifelong impact on survivors’ physical and psychological health.  The practice of FGM is almost universal in Somalia, Guinea, Djibouti and Egypt.  FGM continues in Ghana despite the fact that there is a law against the practice. Nationally, around 4% of women and girls aged between 15 and 49 years have been subjected to FGM.  In Upper East, 3 in every 10 women and girls have been subjected to FGM and in Upper West this is 4 in every 10. FGM has no health benefits but has harmful health consequences which include severe pain, shock, recurrent bladder and urinary tract infections, infertility, newborn deaths and childbirth complications. 

Things are changing.  In the heart of communities and families around the world, more and more people are saying ‘no’ to these practices.  Thousands of communities have chosen to abandon the practice and are encouraging others to follow suit.  Many governments in developing countries are already working to end these practices and have passed laws and developed plans. In 2012, an African led resolution calling for a ban to FGM was passed unanimously at the UN General Assembly.

In London on 22 July 2014, the UK Prime Minister David Cameron will host the UK’s first Girl Summit, aimed at mobilising domestic and international efforts to end FGM and CEFM within a generation.  UNICEF will co-host the event.  Ghana’s Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection— Honourable Nana Oye Lithur—will attend the Summit along with the Queenmother of Asante Mampong Traditional Area, Nana Agyarkomaa Difie II.  The Girl Summit will bring together girls, women and community leaders from the UK and other countries, alongside governments, international organisations, faith leaders, civil society organisations and the private sector to agree on actions to end these practices.  The summit will also share success stories and spread good practice in tackling these issues.  It will hear from girls and women who have lived through the ordeal of FGM or CEFM, and from individuals from affected communities who are driving change so that other girls and women can enjoy greater opportunities in the future.

Ahead of the summit, please pledge your support to end these practices at www.girlsummitpledge.com

Jon Benjamin                           

British High Commissioner

Twitter: @JonBenjamin19

Parliament Ratifies Atuabo Free Port Project

By Yaw Kyei

A prototype of the port project

Parliament has ratified a $600 million commercial agreement among the government of Ghana, Lonrho Ports Ghana Limited and Atuabo Free Port Company Limited for the development of the Ghana Oil and Gas Free Port Project.

The project is a public private partnership aimed at creating a specialised port dedicated to providing support to the supply chain in the oil and gas services sector.

It is expected to facilitate the transportation of logistics and support requirements in the petroleum industry and the entire region along the Gulf of Guinea.

The project will include the construction of an airstrip and a helipad to facilitate flight transportation, as well as other infrastructure like power generators, boreholes, office and home accommodations, a naval base, hydrocarbon fuel storage area and roads.

According to a report by the Joint Committee on Finance and Road and Transport, the port, when completed, would provide logistic supply base, offshore fabrication yard, and shipyard facilities to provide a base to undertake rig and ship repairs and other support services.

“The provision of facilities to support rig and ship repairs in Ghana are uniquely located to accommodate the sudden growth in deepwater exploration across the West African coastline with an expected increase in about 300 offshore supply vessels,” it said.

The chairman of the Finance Committee, James Avedzi, who moved the motion for the adoption of the committee’s report, said under the terms and conditions of the agreement, the project would be a private sector joint venture with the government, with total funding by the private developer.

Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah,
Energy and Petroleum Minister

“The committee was informed that the capital cost for the development is approximately US$600 million which will be funded under a non-recourse project finance,” he said.

When completed, Mr. Avedzi said the project would considerably reduce logistics costs to other oil and gas development in the Western Region.

He added that although 45 per cent interest in the port would be owned by Ghanaian institutions and the government, the country would further benefit from taxes and surface rent to be paid by companies that would operate from the free zone enclave at the port.

As part of the efforts by the government to ensure greater local participation in the development and implementation of the project, he said the project had been subjected to the local content and local participation regulations for the petroleum sector.

The Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Emmanuel Kofi Buah,  in a contribution to the motion, on Wednesday,argued that though the country had two ports at Takoradi and Tema, the facilities were not built to support the requirements of the petroleum industry.

He noted that the project, when completed, would not only turn the country into an oil and gas hub within the West African sub-region but also create about 5,000 jobs.

“As Ghana joins the community of oil producing nations, it will be vital to have facilities such as a dedicated port for oil and gas operations, from storage, fabrications, and maintenance work, all at one location,” he said.

Minority Spokesperson on Roads and Transport, Kofi Owusu Aduomi described the project as very controversial, raising concerns with Lornho’s capacity to build such a port, and indicated that the free port constructed by the company in Equatorial Guinea raised concerns about its capacity to deliver the project.

Mr. Aduomi argued that the Takoradi Port, after the House had approved a loan of £ 194 million to expand its operations, was positioning itself to support the hydro-carbon industry and was currently restructuring and expanding its existing facilities to support the industry.

“The committee visited the Takoradi Port and we are all impressed about the expansion works to support oil and gas,” he said and suggested that the port should rather be developed to meet the demands of the petroleum industry.

After the arguments, the agreement was passed by majority voice vote, as the Minority side, which expressed reservations about the project, abstained.   

Forum advocates attitudinal change, not constitutional amendment

By Edmund Mingle, Takoradi

Participants at a Western Regional forum on the constitutional review process yesterday agreed that the problem of the 1992 Constitution was of attitudinal rather than interpretation as has been perceived by some Ghanaians.

According to the participants, politicians sometimes interpret some provisions of the constitution to suit their political expediency, and the problem includes mistrust, exclusive governance, nepotism and political polarisation.

A participant making a contribution at the forum

Some participants were of the view that although the constitution did not forbid any government from pursuing an all-inclusive governance, however, the selfish attitude of some Ghanaians have created the winner-takes-all political system, which has become the bane of Ghana’s politics.

The forum, organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), at Takoradi yesterday, aimed at helping the Institute’s Anti Winner-Takes-All (WTA) Advisory Committee to collate views for inputs into the constitutional amendment process.

As one of the series of nationwide consultations, the forum was attended by representatives of political parties, public institutions, civil society groups, traditional and religious leaders, security services, business groups and professional bodies.

Participants also noted that the constitution did not compel a new government to change the heads of public institutions, but the people’s attitude of selfishness, political vendetta and mistrust, has led to the practice becoming a convention.

“No matter how we amend the constitution, these problems would persist if we do not change our attitude,” said a participant, Joseph Kwame Armo, a Counsellor at the Upper Dixcove Traditional Council.

Other contributors believed that Ghana’s democracy has been abused to the extent that democracy has become a threat to the nation’s existence.

They therefore advocated fairness in governance and the interpretation and implementation of the constitution in a manner that would ensure all Ghanaians feel secure.

Participants also expressed worry over the dabbling of chiefs, religious leaders and professors, in partisan politics, describing the trend as a dangerous.

They further bemoaned the situation were politics, which should be a platform to serve, has rather become a lucrative business for some politicians.

Archbishop Palmer-Buckle, Chairman of the WTA Advisory Committee, called for consensus in addressing the problems generated by the Winner-Takes-All system which posed a threat to national cohesion and development.

He said Ghanaians need to collectively agree whether the situation was as a result of “the consitution, its intepretation or the attitude of the people.”  

Sterling Int. Ltd wins Africa Business Award

Sterling International Ltd, Manufacturers of advanced coating systems for the automotive, Industrial and marine industry have received a silver award at the ninth Ghana-Africa Business Awards held in Accra on 30^th May 2014.

Mr. Arun Patil(right) Director of Sterling International Ltd,
receiving the award

The award was in honour of the company’s commitment to quality and the significant contributions it had make to Ghana’s development through trade, investment  and other economic exchanges as captured by New partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) initiative.

Mr. ArunPatil, a Director of the Sterling International, said the company was grateful to the organisers of the award scheme for the honour done it.

He said it would serve as a source of motivation for the company to continue to do its best for its clients and the economy in general.

The Ghana-Africa Business Awards Scheme was instituted under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration in collaboration with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), Ghana Free Zones Board (GFZB) and the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) to recognize the contributions of business to the growth and development of the local economy and facilitation of trade between Ghana and counterpart African countries.

This year’s event was graced by some members of the diplomatic community, business executives and political heads.

Mr. ArunPatil (right) Director of Sterling International Ltd, receiving the award from NiiKpobiTetteh