Budget to unveil initiatives to support private sector

Vice President Amissah-Arthur with
Diana Layfield(middle) and other Stanchart executives
in a group photo after the meeting

By Edmund Mingle

The government will unveil a number of initiatives, in the next budget to support the private sector, says Vice President, Kwesi Amissah-Arthur.

“We will request cooperation and partnership of the financial institutions in undertaking these initiatives,” he said, without giving details of the initiatives.

The Vice President made the call during a meeting with executives of Standard Chartered Bank, led by Diana Layfield, Standchart’s Regional Chief Executive Officer for Africa, at the Flagstaff House in Accra yesterday.

He said there was a need to have the low inflation rate in the country translated into jobs and business growth.

The Vice President therefore called for increased support from financial institutions towards improving access to credit to aid effective business growth across the country.

He said partnering the government in that regard would also ensure that the cost of credit was reduced to enable small scale businesses to secure the needed support to develop for the benefit of the economy.

In that regard, he charged Standard Chartered Bank, and local banks to spearhead the reduction in cost of credit provided for the SMEs.

He lauded the relations between the government and Stanchart, and expressed optimistic that more dividends would accrue from the partnership for the benefits of the local economy.

Mrs. Layfield, for her part commended Ghana for the steady economic growth over the years, saying the bank was impressed about the gains.

She is in Accra for the bank’s regional meeting, and according to her, the choice of Ghana for the meeting reflects the bank’s confidence in the Ghanaian economy.

She said the bank was impressed about profile of Ghana’s economic prospects, and declared the bank’s intention to increase its investment in Ghana.

“Ghana’s economic reforms are hugely encouraging for the bank,” she said, and assured the government of more collaboration.

END

President moves into Flagstaff House

Thursday, February 7, 2013

By Edmund Mingle

The seat of government will today officially move from the Castle, Osu to the Flag Staff House Kanda.

 The movement will complete the phased relocation of the Presidency from the Castle to the new presidential edifice.

The frontage of the Flagstaff House, the new seat of government.

 A short ceremony has been planned commemorate the movement to the Flag Staff House, which was first occupied by the Vice President, Kwesi Amissah-Arthur

The edifice, which has been shrouded in controversy, was built by the New Patriotic Party government.

 After the National Democratic Congress government took office in 2009, the late former President Mills could not occupy it because of defects in the building and security concerns.

 He also used the building for ceremonial diplomatic events, while part of the building was temporarily given to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs following the gutting of its multi-storey office.

After taking office, President John Mahama set up a committee to work on the structural defects and the security concerns, to allow the full utilization of the edifice.

Before the Vice President moved in as part of a phased relocation, stringent efforts were made to address the structural defects, while security was beefed up in and around the structure.

The staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are expected to soon move out to their new building near the Kotoka International Airport to provide adequate office pace for the Presidential Staffers and support staff.

According to Mahama Ayariga, the President will not be residing in the Flagstaff House, but only conduct official government business there.

He said that government would make indications later should the President decide to inhabit the presidential residence attached to the office.

Veep allays fears of investor community

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

By Edmund Mingle

The Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur yesterday allayed the fears of the investor community about the current political situation in the country, following the opposition’s legal challenge over the election results, saying investor need not worry.

The Vice President in a pose with Trudy Kernighan(second from left)
 and other officials from the Canadian High Commission

“Our election is not in dispute,” he said.

He said there was no need to harbour any fear of uncertainty because the business of government will continue to run in spite of the legal battle, which he was optimistic would end in favour of the government.

Vice President Amissah-Arthur gave the assurance to the investor community during a courtesy call on him by the Canadian High Commissioner to Ghana, Trudy Kernighan at the Flagstaff House in Accra.

According to him, the government does not expect the legal challenge to change anything because the President rightly won the elections.

“We are optimistic it would end in our favour, and for the Court to confirm that the President really won,” he said.

The opposition New Patriotic Party which lost the elections is challenging the results at the Supreme Court, claiming the election was rigged for President Mahama. But the government believes it is an exercise in futility since the claims are false.

 Analysts believe the case could have a negative effect of the economy because of the uncertainty it could create among investors.

 But the Vice President indicates that there is no cause for worry.  He therefore, urged businesses to take advantage of the congenial economic climate to increase their investments in the country, since Ghana’s economic prospects continue to improve.

“Ghana is moving on,” he said, and urged the business players to join the economic progress by exploiting business opportunities.

He urged the present and prospective investors, both within and abroad, not to be discouraged by the court case, and rather be inspired by the country’s positive economic and democratic credentials.

Touching on Ghana’s relations with Canada, the Vice President lauded the continued development assistance from that country in support of Ghana progress.

He cited development interventions supported by the Canadian government through the Canadian International Development Agency(CIDA) in various sectors of the Ghanaian economy, and described the assistance as exemplary.

The Vice President also commended the government of Canada for directing investments to Ghana, and gave the assurance that measures have been instituted to sustain the stability of the economy for the benefits of businesses.

He informed the High Commissioner that the government was aiming at encouraging investors to shift from portfolio investment to direct investment, believing that such a move would help to increase production and generate more jobs for Ghanaians.

Madam Kernighan, for her part, was happy about the strong bilateral ties between the two countries, saying the government of Canada remained committed to its friendship with Ghana because of the benefits that have accrued for their people over the years.

She said because of the growing economic partnership, the government of Canada continued to expand its assistance programme for Ghana, saying the Canada has over the years supported interventions in the areas of education, health, mining, water and business growth.

She announced the impending visit of the Canadian Minister of Trade to Ghana as part of Canada’s efforts to explore emerging opportunities from its economic partnership with Ghana. 

UN agencies must co-ordinate effectively---Veep

Vice President Amissah-Arthur addressing the UN
agency heads, with Ruby Sandhu-Rojon (left), the UN Resident Coordinator

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

By Edmund Mingle
Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur has advocated effective coordination between the various agencies of the United Nations in Ghana and the government so as to achieve the desired results of development projects.

He believed  that improved co-ordination between the government and the 26 UN agencies would help to avoid duplication of efforts and ensure efficiency in the implementation of initiatives.

Addressing the Heads of the UN agencies in Ghana at a meeting at the Flagstaff House in Accra yesterday, the Vice President lauded the partnership and collaboration between the government and the agencies, but noted that there was room for improvement.

The meeting was to discuss challenges affecting the work of the UN agencies in the country and to identify ways of enhancing their collaboration with government for the benefit of Ghanaians.

Vice President Amissah-Arthur thanked the UN agencies for their contribution and support offered within the UN’s Development Framework for Ghana, saying the  various initiatives being pursued by the agencies have been very helpful to Ghana.

He assured them of government’s continued commitment to its partnership with the UN, and expressed optimism that the challenges facing the agencies would be adequately addressed.

Ruby Sandhu-Rojon, the UN Resident Coordinator, who led the UN team, said the agencies provide a collective capacity of expertise to support the government in resolving development challenges.

She noted that the UN agencies have been working with the government to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and was happy that the country was making significant strides in achieving a number of the goals in the areas of poverty reduction, food security, health, maternal mortality, education, nutrition, and sanitation.

Vice President Amissah-Arthur (midle) in a group picture with the UN
agency Heads after their meeting. 

“We are looking at how to work together with government to make a difference,” she said.

The Resident Coordinator also assured the government of continued assistance and cooperation, indicating that the welfare of the citizenry was of paramount interest to the UN agencies.

“You can count on us,” she assured.

France lauds Ghana's progress

Vice President Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur

Thursday, January 24, 2013

By Edmund Mingle
The government of France has lauded the economic and democratic progress made by Ghana, and said it is very confident of the development prospects in Ghana.

In that regard, that country has assured the government of its cooperation in helping to achieve growth targets.

“We do think that Ghana is on a very good track,” said Frederick Clavier, French Ambassador to Ghana during a call on Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur at the Flafstaff House in Accra.
The Ambassador, who conveyed the French government’s happiness about Ghana’s recent successful elections, also noted that his government was prepared to increase French investments in Ghana due to the congenial business atmosphere.

In furtherance of that, he announced that a group of 150 French investors would soon be in Ghana to explore opportunities for increased investment.

He congratulated the President and his government for taking office, indicating that France was prepared to work together with the new government.

He trusted that they would institute the necessary measures to sustain and improve on the economic gains.

On the political front, he said the government of France considered Ghana as a very critical contributor to peace in Africa, and promised active cooperation for improved democracy and peace in countries such as Mali and Cote d’Ivoire.

“We intend to open joint efforts to share ideas towards achieving peace in Mali,” he said.
In addition, he said “France has decided to upgrade its relations with Ghana,” and that Ghana could be assured of its continued support.

In that regard, the Ambassador extended the French government’s invitation to President Mahama to visit that country.

Vice President Amissah-Arthur, responding, thanked the government of France for the development assistance and cooperation.

He was optimistic that bilateral cooperation between the two nations would be expanded to yield more dividends, saying emerging areas of mutual interest would have to be considered.

With regard to the intention to increase French investments in Ghana, he welcomed the move and assured that the government would continue to create a stable economic climate so as to secure the confidence of investors.

“We are confident of the prospects, and we know Ghanaians and our friends like France are behind us,” he said.

Ghana, he said was committed to bilateral relations with France, saying the government was prepared to collaborate in resolving issues emerging from countries such as Mali and Cote d’Ivoire which are also of interest France.
END

Govt. promises to solve soldiers' housing challenges

                                                                                       Monday, January 28, 2013

Soldiers from GAF's special forces unit on parade

By Edmund Mingle & Agnes Opoku Sarpong

The Vice President, Kwesi Amissah Arthur has assured the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) of government’s commitment to deal comprehensively with challenges of accommodation for soldiers.

He said the government acknowledged that in spite of efforts made to address the problem, there were still challenges in the provision of quality accommodation for military personnel.

“This year, the issue of accommodation will be given full attention,” he assured.

Addressing personnel of GAF at this year’s WASSA celebration at Burma Camp in Accra on Friday, Vice President Amissah-Arthur also indicated that emerging challenges regarding the provision of equipment for enhance operations, would be equally addressed.

He commended the personnel of the GAF for their contribution to sustained peace and security in the country, and asked them to be proud of their successful operations in the past year.

“The improved equipment and training available to the Armed Forces paid a significant dividend. You guaranteed us a stable national environment, creating a congenial atmosphere for national peace and development,” he told the soldiers.

In addition, he siiad their effort in international peace support operations continue to give Ghana a very positive image.

He also cited the GAF’s cooperation with the Police in last month’s elections, and the daily joint anti-armed robbery operation, as well as their swift response to disasters relief activities, saying their contributions during 2012 were highly commendable.

“Without your active presence in conflict area, the security situation would certainly have been worse,” he added.

The Vice President also lauded the improved cooperation and understanding between the GAF and the civilian public, but noted that there was room for improvement.

He assured the GAF High Command of government’s continued support and cooperation to enable them to continue delivering on its mandate, and reminded the personnel of the need to remain professional.

Commodore Geoffrey Mawuli Biekro, Chief of Staff at General Headquarters of GAF, in his welcome address, pledged GAF’s renewed commitment to protect the peace being enjoyed by Ghanaians.

“We are ready to put our lives on the line for the people of this country to have peace,” he assured.

He also promised that the military would deliver on its mandate for the meaning development of the nation.

As part of the celebration, two civilian workers-Jonathan Nartey and Vide Adu- who were adjudged best workers for 2012, were awarded.

Also Major Elikem Fiamavle, who won a French essay competition initiated by the Chief of Defence Staff, was honoured.

The essay competition is to encourage the learning of the French by the personnel so that they could easily communication with their counterparts from Francophone countries during international operations.

END

Martey-Newman expresses gratitude

Mr. Martey-Newman(left) receiving a parting gift from the Press Corps

Monday, January 21, 2013 

By Edmund Mingle

John Henry Martey-Newman, the immediate past Chief of Staff at the Presidency has expressed appreciation to the members of the ruling government for the support offered him during his tenure.

 He said the cooperation from the members and other stakeholders contributed significantly to the successful implementation of the better Ghana agenda.

 In addition, he particularly thanked the members of the Presidential Press Corps for actively playing their role in providing the Presidency the platform to communicate with the pubic and also keeping the government accountable to the Ghanaians.

Interacting with a cross section of the members of the Presidential Press Corps who called on him to bid him farewell as he prepares to hand over to the new Chief of Staff, Mr. Martey-Newman said he was very happy to have had the opportunity to serve in that capacity.

He was happy that he had been able to contribute his quota to the better Ghana agenda, but noted that he was able to perform due to the support he enjoyed from all stakeholders.

“I appreciate the support,” he said, and called for similar support for his successor, Prosper Douglas Kweku Bani.

Responding to commendation for good job done by the members of the Press Corps, Mr. Martey-Newman, who was appointed by the late President Mills, thanked God for being his helper.

He reminded people of the need to serve the nation with dedication, loyalty and commitment, saying that was the only for all to contribute meaningfully to national development.

Mr. Martey-Newman urged the media to continue be supportive of the national development agenda, describing the media is critical partners in nation building.

For his part, Samuel Ablordepey, the spokesman for the delegation, thanked the outgoing Chief of Staff for being supportive of the work of the Corps.

He lauded his contribution towards the successes chalked by the Mills-Mahama administration, saying the members of Corps admired him for the hardwork, dedication and discipline.

“The Press Corps wishes you well, and we pray to God to continue to bless and guide you,” he said.

END