Climate change puts Ghana's agric at risk

Ghana may be worst hit by the impact of Climate Change (CC) if adequate measures are not adopted to contain the brunt, according to  a report by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The report cautioned that the current low yields than projected being experienced in the agric sector had been attributed to the effects of climate change.

It warned that yields in the agric sector are expected to further decrease, which may likely affect the vulnerable and the poor.

The report termed the Policy Advice Series 2 highlights the negative effects of climate change on the agricultural sector in Ghana.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in  Article 1, defines climate change as: ‘A change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods’.

Historical data for Ghana from the year 1961 to 2000 clearly shows a progressive rise in temperature and decrease in annual rainfall. In Ghana, CC is manifested through rising temperatures, declining rainfall totals and increased variability, rising sea levels and high incidence of weather extremes and disasters such as flash floods (Minia et al. 2004).

Agriculture accounts for about one-third of Gross Domestic Product (GDP); 28.3 per cent (2011 est.) and employs more than half of the workforce, mainly small landholders. The sector grew by 2.8 per cent against a target of 5.3 per cent in 2011 (2012 Budget).

Irregular rainfall pattern is a feature of CC with particularly damaging consequences, such as droughts and flood and these are predicted to get worse over time.

According to the EPA Policy Advice Series, which have been developed to enhance understanding and appreciation of CC and disaster risk issues, by policy makers and senior technocracts and to support them to take urgent and needed decisons, agriculture and food security are interrelated and thus, CC induced unsustainable livelihoods will result in negative consequences on food security, poverty, health, education, gender equality and environmental degradation.

Agricultural production’s dependence on rainfall is a significant hindrance to the developments of the sector in Ghana. The use of irrigation to counter the effects of poor rainfall is particularly low across the country.

Agriculture is highly sensitive to temperature and rainfall and yields are plummeting and will continue to do so.

Major challenges in the agricultural sector include low crop yields, over dependence on inconsistent rainfall, unsustainable agricultural practices, low knowledge of use technology and sustainable utilisation of the natural resource base, mostly due to poverty levels among farmers.

CC impacts are reduced soil fertility due to changes in precipitation (rainfall) and temperature, rainfall deficits resulting in desertification of grazing pastures and reduced water availability for animals and shifts in agro-ecological zones that are too rapid for trees and farming systems to adapt to.

Others are incidents of pest attacks resulting from an increased temperature, loss of cropland from erosion and desertification, coastal erosion and destruction of valuable coastal agricultural land.

Earlier this month, about 5,200 acres of rice farms in the Ketu-North District of the Volta region were invaded by army worms and caused massive destruction to crops. The farms included 1,200 acre Afife Irrigation Project Farm and another 3,000 acres of rain fed private farms located in the Kpli Valley at Klenomadi. A total of 2,524 farmers risked losing their livelihood but for the timely intervention of the Regional Directorate of Agriculture that commenced spraying to prevent the spread of the army worm invasion in the district.

In 2003 Ghana signed the Maputo Declaration of African countries allocating 10 per cent of national budgetary resources to develop the agricultural sector. The spending on agricultural research and development in Ghana doubled between 2000 and 2008, from GH₵151 billion to GH₵352 billion respectively, but most went towards an increased outlay for salaries (75 to 83 per cent).

All planning in the agricultural sector is aligned with the Food and Agricultural Sector Development Policy (FASDEP 11) which seeks to address the challenges of the agricultural sector.

However, impacts of CC have not been factored in any of the six policy objectives, though agriculture is highly sensitive to temperature and rainfall. For instance, objective one targets production and post harvest losses but does not account for the potential increase in vulnerability of the poor due to the unpredictable climate change conditions.

The EPA Policy Series 2 recommended that more urgently, impacts of CC need to be quickly factored into the sector plan so that additional funding can be sourced for CC adaptation measures in the country. 

Nevertheless, government’s outlook for food and agriculture in 2012 as stated in the budget is to expand the Agriculture Subsidy Programme to include liquid fertilizers (bio-fertilizer) and improved seeds. The Ministry will subsidize 165,000 metric tonnes of chemical and liquid fertilizer.

“The National Food Buffer Stock Company will acquire another rice mill with a capacity of about 8.5 metric tonnes per hour, to be located in the Northern Region where rice production has been increasing for the past 3 years. In line with the national policy of stocking food for a better Ghana, at least 10,000 metric tonnes each of maize and milled rice, as well as 1,000 metric tonnes of soya beans will be stocked at all times,” Minister of Finance, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor announced.

Recently, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr Kwesi Ahwoi announced that government had sourced an amount of US$145 million from the World Bank and the United States Agency for the implementation of the Ghana Commercial Agricultural Project (GCAP) to address food security in the country.

He said by the end of the project in 2017, Ghana would be able to produce enough rice to feed itself and also become the bread basket for West African sub-region.

Foreign companies must get listed

In spite of efforts by the government to expand the capital market, very little achievement has been made.  Ama Amankwah Baafi reports.

The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Adu Anane Antwi, has advocated laws that will enjoin foreign companies, particularly those in the extractive and renewable sectors to invest in the country to offload a portion of their stake on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE).

He said such a move would  not only help in expanding the capital market but also offer Ghanaians the opportunity not only to be a part of such companies but also share in the natural resources of the country.

Mr Antwi made the call in an interview meant to expatiate on views raised on the issue during his presentation at the third Graphic Business Forum held in Accra on the theme “Leveraging ICT and Oil and Gas Resources to accelerate Ghana’s Economic Development”..

The forum, which attracted economists, members from the academia, policy makers and a cross-section of the public was meant to offer a platform for promoting vibrant policy discourse on issues that promote Ghana's economic development.

It was also provide an avenue to interact and discuss critical issues that impact on the country’s socio economic development.

The forum which attracted more than 400 participants was had the support and partnership from  Vodafone, International Marine and Protective Coating and UT Bank. The media partners were Metro TV and Citi FM.

Mr Antwi explained that the call for a law will not in any way drive deter investors from investing in the country’s economy as being predicted by some people.

He said their proposal is aimed at creating opportunities for Ghanaians to share in all the economic activities that are taking place.

“Apart from developing the capital market, it is also to make sure that Ghanaians are holding part of these companies. We don’t want to develop leaving some people behind. When everybody is involved then they will know what is happening in the country and this will create an impact on them,” he said.

He stated that currently most regulatory laws require companies to have a Ghanaian component before they are issued licenses. “The same laws can be changed to a public component and I don’t think it will deter investors”.

“If you go to the Ghana Investment Promotion Council there are many of these rules there. What is happening is that you may have one or two Ghanaians who are taking part of that component”, Mr Antwi said.

The SEC Boss said; “If they say that it is a public company, it doesn’t change anything, except that now it’s not held by only one or two Ghanaians, but includes it for every Ghanaian who is interested to be roped in and I am not sure that is going to drive anybody away.”    

Again, he said it is important that when corporations want to operate in an environment and they want people to be part of it, a better way is to make sure that the people have a stake in that operation. 

“When given that opportunity Ghanaians will feel like they are part of the corporation that lists. You will have more likeness than when somebody thinks that you have come from outside and are just taking our money,” Mr Antwi said.   

He explained that Ghana, unlike countries such as South Africa and Zimbabwe is not attempting to nationalize all things.

“We are not saying give your companies back. We are saying that just float a little of your investment for Ghanaians to own it for them to be proud that you have come to stay and that they are part of your operations,” he said.

The SEC Boss assured the commission would continue to promote this agenda through advocacy at any given time with the conviction that in spite of periodic resistance it will ultimately succeed.

Cost of oil production unknown

THE actual cost of producing a barrel of oil on the Jubilee Field is still unknown, the Director of the Kumasi Institute for Technology Energy and Environment (KITE), Mr Ishmael Edjekumhene has disclosed.

Mr Edjekumhene said the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) appeared unwilling to give information on the actual cost of producing a barrel of oil on the Jubilee Field, leaving the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to wait on oil companies to furnish it with details of the cost component.

Speaking at the launch of a Petroleum Revenue Assessment Model (PRAM), a module devised by the KITE to monitor operations in the petroleum sector, in Accra,  he said KITE’s pursuit of information from the Jubilee field and its stakeholders to test the PRAM yielded no results as neither side was willing to assist it with the necessary information.

He observed that in line with the Petroleum Revenue Management Law (Act 815), 2011, it was essential for information to be released regularly and accurately to foster transparent management of petroleum revenues.

“KITE’s decision to develop the assessment model is underpinned by the government’s commitment to ensure transparency in the management of oil and gas revenue,” he said.

The model is to provide non-state actors such as civil society organisations with a tool to be used in auditing and authenticating petroleum revenues declared by the government.

Mr Edjekumhene  was thus confident that the PRAM would help non-technical stakeholders in the emerging oil and gas sector to ask managers of the oil revenues relevant questions as well as “deepen transparency and accountability in the management of petroleum revenues in Ghana.”

The KITE director, however, noted that the model “is not a revenue forecasting tool; it is not to be used to track budget expenditure. What we have to do is to use this information to ask our duty-bearers to explain discrepancies in figures put out there”.

Oil and gas career guide launched

The Kumasi Institute of Technology Energy and Environment (KITE), an NGO with interest in the energy sector, has launched an oil and gas career guide to help job seekers in the new industry to make informed choices.            

The publication, “A Career Guide to the Oil and Gas Industry in Ghana”, was developed and published with the support of STAR-Ghana, also a development NGO, under its programme Strengthening Transparency, Accountability and Responsiveness in Ghana.

The guide would provide accurate information on job types and prospects in the oil and gas industry, as well as the general entry requirements for a range of careers in the industry.

The discovery of oil and gas in commercial quantities in Ghana has resulted in the average Ghanaian within the economically active age bracket (the unemployed youth, experienced professionals working in other sectors of the economy, students in secondary and tertiary institutions) aspiring for a job in the fledgling industry. 

According to the Director of KITE, Mr Ishmael Edjekumhene, the craze for jobs in the petroleum industry has, among other things, resulted in the mushrooming of a number of oil and gas training institutions across the country, each offering or promising prospective trainees the requisite skills and competencies that would enable them secure employment in the industry.

Estimates from Tullow Oil indicate that total direct employment from the Jubilee Field oil project (the first major oil development and production project in Ghana) will be less than 800 in the entire life of the project.

Mr Edjekumhene said the fact that job opportunities will not be anywhere close to the levels expected by Ghanaians makes it imperative that informed career decisions are made to avoid disappointments.

“The career guide is targeted primarily at students at the secondary and tertiary levels, educators, teachers, career/employment counsellors and parents. Professionals seeking or planning career changes will also find this guide an invaluable resource. It is our hope that users /readers would be empowered either to reach their goals of finding jobs and building successful careers in the petroleum industry or decide not to venture at all into the industry if it becomes clear that they are not cut out for careers in the petroleum industry”.

The career guide, which is divided into five main parts gives an overview of the range of occupations in the industry, and their educational and training pathways.

The acting Director of Tertiary Division at the Ministry of Education, Mr Donnan Tay, at a ceremony in Accra to launch the oil and gas career guide, lauded the initiative by KITE and said that the government desired such public-private partnerships.

He added that the ministry had positioned itself to carry out oil and gas programmes, and cited the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Accra and Takoradi Polytechnics as institutions positioned to do oil and gas programmes.

“The Council of Technical Education and Vocational Training has been empowered to do skill development in the oil and gas industry and funds are available for accessing. I believe the guide will assist the ministry in its policy initiative and the overall ongoing restructuring of the education sector”.             

  

Tradecom project

The Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) has said the capacity of its personnel is now enhanced, and by extension the agency itself, to design specific sectoral strategies based on Ghana’s priority product sectors to assist Ghanaian exporters take advantage of market opportunities.

In concrete terms, the GEPA has been able to prepare and test methodologies for conducting sales missions in targeted markets for the benefit of Ghanaian exporters.

The above are the results of the Tradecom Capacity Building Project for the GEPA, initiated in January 2012 and aimed at ensuring that the authority has the requisite expertise to prosecute the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s (MOTI) agenda of increasing Non-Traditional Exports (NTE) revenue to US$5 billion by 2016. 

The project was also to enhance the GEPA’s preparedness to implement a major policy of MOTI, the National Export Strategy (NES), for the NTE sector, which will be launched soon.     

In a speech read on behalf of the Chief Executive of the GEPA, by Mr. Alexander Dadzawa, Head of Projects at GEPA, at a validation workshop in Accra, he said the authority was unable to achieve all outcomes it has envisaged in the design of the project due to two main shortfalls.

Firstly, he said the Tradecom Facility was unable to field all the four external project partners and so the original terms of reference of the project was modified. Secondly, the period for the implementation of the project was shortened from the original six months to just three and a half months, mainly because the facility was coming to an end.

“The resultant effect of these challenges was that a lot of the activities envisaged under the project could not be implemented at all or had to be rushed.”

He expressed appreciation to Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, the President of the ACP-EU Group based in Brussels and European Commission for funding support, AFC International Consultants of Germany and the beneficiary companies who bought into the project idea.

During the Tradecom Project, GEPA tested new methodologies and mechanisms such as individual sales missions to the two key targeted markets of the European Union (EU) and ECOWAS in favour of Ghanaian exporters of non-traditional products.

The mission to Germany in February this year, including eight exporters focused on the export of the fresh and dried fruits, spices, medicinal plants and coffee. Each had about 10 meetings with German importers.                                                                                                                                         

Eight exporters of wooden furniture, aluminium household utensils and roofing sheets joined the mission to Liberia and Mali (ECOWAS) in March 2012, during which each exporter had more than 10 individual meetings with potential importers.

In a remark, Ms Daria Fane from the Delegation of the EU to Ghana explained the EU provides support through EU-ACP programme such as the Tradecom Project to provide trade assistance to developing countries.

She announced the budget for the Tradecom facility which has been ongoing since 2005 has been increased from 50 million Euros to 60 million Euros. She hoped the results would contribute to the broad objectives of strengthening the capacity of the GEPA in the area of market access.

The Deputy Director, Research and Information at GEPA, Mr. Maxwell Osei-Kusi said due to the success of the two sales missions, which has been confirmed by participants, the GEPA will deploy this tool increasingly in its market entry activities with a view to assisting the exporters in obtaining more orders for their products.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

   

        

IFP worried over reduced poverty spending

THE Institute of Fiscal Policy (IFP) of the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC) has indicated that the declining trends in poverty spending could have far reaching implications for the poor, the vulnerable in the country.

The IFP said the quality of service delivery to the marginalised in the Ghanaian society can be compromised while the country’s march towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) can be impeded.

The IFP said its analysis of the 2012 budget revealed that the macro-fiscal framework outlook for the 2012 budget could have widened fiscal space and provided more spending in the social sector.

Yet, poverty reduction expenditure as a percentage of total government expenditure saw a significant increase in 2010 with declining trends in 2011 and 2012.

Also, budgetary allocations to other key sector ministries, department and agencies (MDAs) which are critical to the marginalised in society, such as children, have either been almost flat or experienced declining trends.

These imperatives, according to the IFP, underlie its call to action, the tracking of the 2012 budget. 

At a media encounter in Accra by IFP to share its observations and findings on the 2012 budget statement, the institute highlighted five sectors  of the economy that are critical to the survival of the marginalised in the country.

These included macro-fiscal framework and poverty, health, education, water and social protection and social welfare.

The IFP’s Coordinator, Ms Philomena Johnson, said ISODEC has seen the budget as a vital tool for promoting economic stability, growth and distribution of resources.

She said although the country’s media is widely acknowledged as having made strides, the citizen’s participation in development planning and engagement which demands equity, transparency and accountability on issues of national interest is woefully below expectation.

She said beyond the annual analysis of public budget, there is no structured mechanism in place to track government’s commitments as defined in the budget.

“The goods and services item which directly affects women and children has suffered a consistent decline since 2008 with 2012 registering the least expenditure allocation. Right of access to healthcare can be seriously hampered, particularly for those in the rural areas should this downward trend persist,” Ms Johnson disclosed.

The Executive Director of ISODEC, Mr Bishop Akolgo, advised the media to be proactive and play its role in national development by ensuring that development priorities in the budget were operationalised. 

“If you have a policy without a budget it is meaningless though budgets are informed by policies. Let us be budget aware but more importantly budget vigilant.”

The meeting ended with the formation a Media Budget Watch, a network comprising of selected journalist to track budgets in the country.

Save bauxite industry

A study on bauxite mining in Ghana has recommended government to ensure by way of policy, that a bauxite refinery is established in order to maximize the huge potentials in the sector.

The study construed that while most foreign companies that have held equity stake in the bauxite sector in the past, came on the back of establishing a bauxite refinery in Ghana, they ended up exporting raw bauxite to the detriment of the local economy.

The Third World Network-Africa (TWN) commissioned the study in October, 2010 to examine the socio-economic, as well as environmental impact of bauxite mining in Ghana.

Ghana is endowed with a variety of commercial minerals, of which four most prominent ones are gold, diamond, bauxite and manganese. Mineral experts say the production of bauxite in Ghana, which currently contributes about one per cent of the total mineral export receipts for the country, has the potential to become the second most important mineral after gold, if it is given the needed attention. Also, about 90 per cent of literature in mining sector is on gold.

Bauxite deposits in Ghana can be found in Awaso (currently being mined) in the Western Region, Nyinahini and Kibi which are of commercial quantities. The study looked at the operational areas of the Ghana Bauxite Company (GBC) located at Awaso. The catchment communities of GBC are Awaso, Asempanaye, Atronsu, Subri and Chirano. 

At a meeting by the National Coalition on Mining in Accra, lead researcher, Mr. Atiemo Samson Manukure stated the history of bauxite mining in Ghana dates back to 1940 and GBC has gone through several managerial changes.

Key findings of the study he recounted are that production of bauxite has fluctuated over the years such that between 2000 and 2008, 430,000 tons to approximately 800,000.00 tons was recorded.

He said export earnings went from US$13 million to about USD 18 million, far lower than industry’s average for the same period.

GBC, he disclosed has since 2003 not paid dividends to government. “Rail haulage of bauxite has drastically reduced from about 85 per cent in 2000 to about 21% in 2008 while road haulage increased from 15 per cent to about 79 per cent within the same period,” he said.

According to him, the increased road haulage has resulted in the development of potholes in the Awaso-Kumasi highways, coupled with increased road traffic accidents involving the haulage trucks.

In order to avert further deterioration of the highway, the study recommended that government and GBC take urgent steps to rehabilitate the western corridor rail lines. This will significantly reduce the road haulage of bauxite.

Environment Programme Officer of TWN-Africa, Mr. Abdulai Darimani called for extensive debate by stakeholders on bulk minerals (bauxite and manganese) since through that policy can be influenced.  

Save the creative industry- artists cry out

FEMALE entreprenuers in the creative industry have asked the government and other stakeholders to help save the sector from the influx of cheap foreign products that could collapse the local industry.

They said despite the industry being a source of revenue and job creation to the country, the lack of attention by the government to the creative industry could dampen the interest of the local artisans and potentially kill the industry’s prospects for the economy.

The female entrepreneurs made the appeal at an exhibition in Accra, which was  dubbed “Open Art Therapy”.

The event brough together female glass sculptors, painters, environmental bag designers, photographers, paper artists, bead designers and textile designers working in the country.

The Women Arts Institute, Africa (Wai) on the occasion of the International Women’s Day created the platform for female entrepreneurs in the creative industry to showcase their handiworks.

The Co-ordinator of Wai, Akwele Suma Glory told the Daily Graphic  that female artists in particular, had been marginalised and so Wai saw it necessary to create space for them to express themselves and register their presence.

“Granted it’s a male dominated sector and so we are trying hard because the economic market is not there. Internationally, we compete with a whole lot but sparingly we breakthrough,”  

An exhibitor, Mrs Adwoa Ammah-Tagoe said she was into fine arts on part time basis because the industry currently was not lucrative. She has the hope of doing full time someday in order to create jobs particularly for the female youth.

However, she called on the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture to include arts into its cultural activities to boost the industry. 

She said the art industry in Ghana was still at a developmental stage since people thought of other necessities of life before  considering arts.

She told the Daily Graphic that it wass about time Ghanaians showed appreciation to the creative industry and what it offered. “Unfortunately artists get recognition when they die. At that time they are not around and cannot enjoy the proceeds from their works”.

Adwoa said she studied textiles at the university but was into arts because she was gifted. She said she had her first exhibition in 2003 at the Novotel Hotel in Accra and has held collections in Germany, Denmark and US.

Ms Everlove Tetteh has been in the creative industry for the past 15 years. She is into bead jewellery, foot wears designed with beads, textile and millinery. Although she has secured local and foreign markets she corroborated that access to market and funding remain a challenge .

She added that if she could  have access to loan she could employ more people, thereby helping them to make a living.

A Gender and Development expert Mrs Marian Tackie commended the organizers of the exhibition and described it an illustration of what the Ghanaian female is capable of; creative, artistic and put a lot of detail in whatever they do.

She is of the hope that when females in the creative industry are given the financial and technical support they can in turn train other females to make a living.  

Implement the biosafety law

To guarantee food security

Government has been asked to implement the new biosafety law in order to improve the country’s agricultural yield and guarantee food security.

An executive of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), Professor Walter Alsatian, said this at a media briefing in Accra that the passage of the biosafety law would provide an opportunity for the country to replicate the good practices that other countries were using to improve the agricola sectors.

The Ghana Biosafety Law, Act 831, was passed in June 2011 but is yet to be implemented into the country’s agricultural sector.

According to him, the introduction of modern biotechnology into the agricultural sector would complement traditional technologies to effectively address the problems of food security while increasing the incomes of farmers.

Professor Alsatian said the implementation of the biosafety law would help address the challenges associated with the new threat of climate change on farming.

 Biotechnology is any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives to make or modify products for specific use. The technology has tools that apply to the various sub-sectors of agriculture such as crops, livestock, fisheries, aquaculture, forestry and agree-processing.

 Apart from the Biosafety Law, Prof. Alsatian said Ghana had goodwill to realise the use of biotechnology from various international agencies such as the World Bank and UNION.

“Now Ghana needs to support research and development in biotechnology, promote public-private partnership in exploitation of modified and non-modified biotechnology for agriculture and consider modern bitches as one of the tools for agricultural development.”

Professor Alsatian debunked the risk perceptions associated with biotechnology such as dependence on multinationals for seedlings, toxicity, allergic reactions and gene flow, saying “ these are just not true”.

According to him, the lack of understanding on the issues was due to little awareness on the proper use of biotechnology.

 He said increased consumption of GM foods was safer because they were scrutinised.

“There is a scientific backing and there is a law governing it. They are subjected to test and risk assessment,” he added.

He called on the media to help educate the public on issues of biotechnology.

FARA is the technical arm of the Africa Union in matters of agricultural research and has been mandated to assist in the implementation of the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme Pillar IV, which deals with agricultural research, technology dissemination and adoption.   

Educate us on authentic wax prints’

WAX print traders want the local textile manufacturers and the Joint Anti Piracy Task Force against pirated textile prints to engage and educate them on authentic prints by Ghanaian textile manufacturers.

The market women said their interest as traders was to satisfy market demands and so would buy whatever was available for them to sell.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic at the Makola market in Accra, an executive member of the Makola Traders Union, Madam Juliana Brown Afari, explained that now they were a recognised organised group that the task force could collaborate with to fight the issue of pirated textiles on the market.

She described as unfortunate the occasional seizure of their textiles at the market by the task force without any explanation, saying that such action amounted to ‘diplomatic looting’. 

“From time immemorial, there has been no cordial relationship between us and the local manufacturers. If they don’t educate us on the various designs they own for us to be able to differentiate original Ghanaian textiles from pirated ones from outside Ghana, then their objective would be difficult to accomplish.”

To them, Ghanaian authorities should be vigilant at the various points of entry in order to prevent these pirated textiles from getting into the country.

“We are all Ghanaians so we are concerned about the development of our country. Nobody wants to collapse the textile sector. We believe that the pirated prints pass through the borders where officers are stationed to check these things so they must act well.”

They explained that they did not have the financial capacity to take local designs outside Ghana to be duplicated, but alleged that it was some shop owners who sometimes sent the local designs to China to be duplicated and turn round to complain to the task force.  

According to the traders, the unexpected seizure of their prints by the task force had resulted in severe consequences. “Most of us here are very old and this business has been our source of livelihood all these years. So when they come unexpectedly to seize our cloths some go unconscious.”

GUTA issues warning to foreign retailers

The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) has issued a stern warning to foreigners engaged in retailing activities to beware and desist from it or face the consequences. 

GUTA has vowed to go all out this year to flush out foreigners who have invaded the retail sector especially when the inter agency task force has been reconstituted and would be operational soon.

The traders said they will not sit and watch their businesses collapse in the name of Ghanaian hospitality, more so when such activities contravenes the Ghana Investment Promotion Act (Act 478) .

Part two of the Act is on “Provisions Relating to Investment”. Section 19, subsection 3states that; “Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, in the case of a trading enterprise involving only the purchasing and selling of goods which is either wholly or partly owned by a non-Ghanaian, there shall be an investment of foreign capital or its equivalent in goods worth at least $300,000.00 by way of equity capital and the enterprise shall by way of equity capital and the enterprise shall employ at least ten Ghanaians.      

Speaking to Graphic Business, the president of GUTA, Mr. George Ofori reiterated that GUTA is not driving investors away but their members are currently agitated and consequences could be grave, therefore government must protect the interest of indigenes.

“The buying and selling by the non-Ghanaians is against the Act and destroying our economy by putting pressure on the cedis. What we are saying is that we don’t want non-Ghanaians in the retail sector but we want genuine investors who will do genuine business. If buying and selling is transfer of technology then we are our own markets.”

 He complained that apart from being pushed out of business, they are also losing their shops in droves to the foreigners who are doing retailing. He said landlords and shop owners are now charging as high as between $50, 000 to $60,000 as goodwill.   

“Obviously the effects are high on the Ghanaians are prepared to pay such huge amounts. If countries like Russia, South Africa and Nigeria were able to expel foreigners from the retail sector why can’t we do same.” 

He accused successive governments of claiming that the private sector is the engine of growth but doing very little to help it grow into the giants businesses expected.

Meanwhile, the inter agency task force, comprising GUTA, the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Ghana Immigration Service, Ghana Revenue Authority, Registrar General and the Inspector General of Police has been reconstituted and will be operational soon.

According to Mr. Ofori, the new communiqué when issued would have a timeline of 90 days and will take effect from the day it would be issued.

Small enterprise owners complete business training

A TOTAL of 45 small businesses cutting across various sectors of the economy have completed a one-week intensive training in business planning to enable them to successfully develop, ran and grow their businesses.

The participants are winners of the annual UT Bank Enablis Business Launchpad Competition 2012 organised by Enablis Ghana and sponsored by some corporate organisations, led by UT Bank.

The entrepreneurs, which included start-up businesses, were taken through topics such as finance, marketing, human resource development and the essence of business plans. 

Organisers of the competition, Enablis Ghana, said the competition was aimed at creating an opportunity for anyone with a business idea or an existing business that found it difficult to secure conventional funding to be considered for access to start-up or expansion funding.

The Country Director of Enablis Ghana, Ms Shika Acolaste, explained at the graduation ceremony of the entrepreneurs in Accra that the competition sought to promote entrepreneurship by encouraging people with great business ideas to turn them into thriving businesses.

“It is to encouraging entrepreneurs to sharpen their business acumen, improve their business writing skills; showcasing the winning entrants as role models to encourage other people to become entrepreneurs; facilitating the provision the provision of funding to entrepreneurs who meet the criteria of the competition’s funding partners and creating opportunities for gainful employment and furthering the country’s economic growth,” she said.

The Managing Director of Accra Brewery Limited, Mr Gregory Metcalf, also noted that entrepreneurship was the fuel that drove economic growth in a developing country.

The competition process, which started last year, evaluates all entries and scores them on the basis of their business viability and suitability in terms of the funding criteria of the competition’s funding partners.

As part of the process, the competitors are assisted to refine and focus on their business ideas.

Besides the title sponsor, UT Bank, other supporters of the competition include Accra Brewery , SIC Insurance Ltd, Sikkens, Business & Financial Times, BT Magazine and Joy FM.

The rest are Tropical Cable & Conductor, Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, DDP Outdoor Ltd., and Graphicolor Printing Ltd.

“Entrepreneurs provide new income to the economy, employment opportunities and sometimes even export revenues,” Mr Metcalf said, while congratulating Enablis for the laudable initiative of creating the platform for development.

Enablis is a membership-based organisation that believes that the entrepreneur is the key to successful small and medium enterprises. The programme was launched at the G-8 meeting in 2002 and officially founded in 2003 as a Canadian-based organisation, which focuses on driving measurable social and economic development by supporting entrepreneurs.

In early 2006, Enablis was deemed a charitable organisation in Canada. Enablis launched its first West African office in Accra in October 2009.

A participant, Mr Linga Marful, told the Graphic Business that the opportunity to participate had been wonderful, exciting and an eye-opener.

“It’s been like a mirror for me to really actualise my business concept. It has taught me so many things I did not think of, many of which I could never have acquired with experience,” he said. 

Women in trading since independence

Madam Hawawu Alhassan, affectionately called Dada, has for more than 20 years been roasting plantain and yam at Adabraka official town. Dada, now 58, said she began her trade by selling groundnut and included plantain later.

She said that at the time she started her trade, she did so with very little amount and said her venture has fared well, as through that she has been able to provide the basic necessaries of life for all her five children.

“I have not been able to build but I believe that once my children are educated and almost independent, one day they will give me my own place to lay my head.”

Narrating her story to Daily Graphic, she said that sitting by the fire all these years had not been very easy but had paid off. Dada hopes to retire from her trade someday.

She said she had never attempted to go in for a loan from anywhere to do her business but preferred buying on credit from her retailers.

Ghanaian women form over 52 per cent  of the country’s population. The main economic activity for women in the rural areas in pre colonial times was agricultural production. Those along the coast sold fish caught by men.

But many of the financial benefits from their commercial activities went into the upkeep of the household, while whatever the man made was reinvested in the extended family business.

In spite of this, Ghanaian women have been able to rise to top professional positions. Some are employed in the same line of work as men and paid equal wages and granted maternity leave with pay.

Hitherto, trading has been the main economic activity for those with little or no education living in the urban centres. Despite gains in some areas, gender inequalities continue to limit women’s ability to participate in and contribute to the growth of the economy.

The Regional President of the Ghana Association of Women Entrepreneurs (GAWE), Ms Stacy Yayra Makumator, thinks that the government must focus on Ghanaian women in business, especially when they act as trainers.

“Women in business who desire to train others must receive the full backing to pull others along. There should be more collaboration between them and the various ministries, departments and agencies and that will help improve the lots of women.”

She explained that looking back in the last ten years, women have embraced the awareness creation on the need for them rise and be empowered, adding that  women are doing better, perhaps, than men, in terms of business.

 “Women themselves have realised it is time for them to be empowered, especially economically, so they can have a voice in decision making at home.”

She said majority of women were engaged in handicraft business but few in agric business and hoped the number will go up. According to her, a lot of women are now engaged in export trading activities.

She said most of the support women in business received was mostly technical and they lacked funding to expand their businesses. She advised women in business to exercise good bookkeeping and not keep money on them so they can get access to bank financing.

Ms Makumator encouraged women to take advantage of advancement in information, communication and technology for them to grow their businesses.

She was not happy that the ICT sector, which offers numerous opportunities, had been dominated by males and encouraged women to be proactive and innovative.

She said that for GAWE, promoting women in business was key on its agenda and said there were plans to this year to take them to the next level.

Ms Matilda Amissah is the Chief Executive of Matamiss Pottery, dealers in ceramics, outdoor and indoor flower vessels and gift items for all occasions, located at Tema. She began making ceramics in 1995 and had her first export in 1996.

She said her business was booming but was affected greatly by the economic crisis in Europe. From a workforce of 200, she now employs 15 people.

“My business has been growing from grace to grace but for the crisis. Most of my workers have left so now when I get orders, it is a great challenge to meet them.”

 She said as a woman in business she used to get some form of support from the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) and West Africa Trade Hub through securing stands at local and international exhibitions and also sourced buyers for her.

She appealed to government to support Ghanaian women in business in the form of grants so they could train others.

“If I get support, I can train about 30 females and 20 males in pottery within three to six months. This I believe will help create jobs for our unemployed youth and also help the economy to grow.”

  

Beware of faceless loan companies

ü  The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has cautioned the public against taking loans from faceless loan companies

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) wants all Ghanaians to secure loans or deposit money only at properly licensed companies and avoid going to An official source said the fact that most of these loan companies choose to remain anonymous is enough warning that they are unregistered and unlicensed.

“People contemplating to take loans from such sources must beware and cross check if they are duly authorised. I will advise that they either call the BoG to cross check or they go to the website of the BoG,” explained the source.

It is common these days to see notices put mostly on trees, walls, at bus stops and other vantage points within Accra asking people to come for loans within 24-hours at no charge.

For most of such notices from the several loan companies that have emerged, they only provide telephone numbers and no other details. Their target is often people working in government institutions and sometimes other salaried workers.  

When Graphic Business contacted the BoG to ascertain if there are laws that regulate the activities of these faceless loan companies, an official said that it is proper for people to cross check any financial institution they intend to deal with in order to safeguard their hard earned money.

The entire city of Accra is engulfed by these posters. Most people take loans from these companies mostly when they are under duress so do not think of the consequences until they are required to pay back.

Majority of the loan companies do not have offices where they operate and meet their prospective clients at popular hang outs to transact their contract. Such transactions do not go through the procedures loans from the banks go through. The interest rates charged on these loans are exorbitant and could be as high as 300 per cent.

Some workers have been reduced to just work to service the loans they take without knowing when they would finish paying back.

Roland told Graphic Business about his experience with one of such loan companies. He said he took the loan when his child gained admission to senior high school and later realised the interest was too much, which made repayment difficult.

He said the persons involved took him to court but then upon a tip off, he challenged them to produce their business registration and taxes papers which they could not. “Up till now they have not called me again to demand their money”.

But how many Ghanaians can be that lucky to escape from the cruelty of such loan companies?

Meanwhile, the Bank of Ghana has developed new guidelines under which it hopes to regulate the operations of moneylenders and loan companies.

Under the guidelines, which were issued under the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Act, the activities of individuals and companies that engage in microfinance have been categorised into four tiers. This divides the different types of loan operators according to the capital they are required to have.

The guidelines cover cooperative saving groups, locally referred to as ‘susu’ companies, moneylenders and financial non-governmental organisations, which operate outside the supervision of the banking regulator.

Authorities said the guidelines will clean up the sector and prevent them from taking advantage of lenders.

 Dedicate funds to support fertiliser subsidy - Peasant farmers

The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) has called for certain taxes to be dedicated to improving agricultural productivity, particularly the Fertiliser Subsidy Programme (FSP).

According to the association, areas to tax should include three per cent of banks’ profit; a percentage of Value Added Tax (VAT), Communications Services Tax, contributions from lottery revenue and a percentage of oil and gas revenue. 

Outlining key issues that needed to be reviewed with regards to the FSP at a policy dialogue in Accra, the Programme Coordinator of PFAG, Ms Victoria Adongo said there should also be an imposition of tariffs on imported food in which Ghana had competitive advantage as a way of raising additional funds to support local agricultural development through the implementation of the FSP.

She said the capacity of the Ghana Agricultural Input Dealers Association should be built to improve their distribution networks and that the subsidy period should run all-year round.

The association has also asked for strict enforcement of the law against smuggling and punishment for person caught trying to smuggle fertiliser outside the country.

PFAG said the government must put in a mechanism to guarantee all farmers equal access to the subsidised fertiliser to avoid hoarding by big players.

The government initiated the Fertiliser Subsidy Programme (FSP) in 2008 to help farmers increase their rate of fertiliser use, thereby increasing productivity and production.

Outlining key issues for a review of the FSP, at a policy dialogue in Accra, the Programme Coordinator of PFAG, Ms Victoria Adongo, said the decentralisation of distribution networks should be made to cover large farming and rural communities.

According to PFAG, key challenges in the current FSP include the delay in the supply of fertilisers, women’s access to subsidised fertiliser not specifically addressed in the current design of the programme and that delay in payment by the government to fertiliser suppliers.

In that vein, the President of PFAG, Mr. Mohammed Adam Nashiru, said the continuation of the fertiliser and other subsidies was necessarily justifiable and emerging consensus was that such subsidies were essential for African agriculture sector.

He said fertiliser was a key determinant of high crop yields, for that reason “in our efforts to ensure the country becomes food secure, we should be interested in access of fertiliser by farmers.”

He added; “Ghana is still not food secure as food production is less than required consumption, with commodities like rice and maize still not enough to feed the country.”

The association called on parliament and the government to gather the political will and do what was best for farmers. 

Govt pumps GH¢ 84m into LESDEP

THE Ghana government is investing GHC84 million in Local Enterprises and Skills Development Programme (LESDEP) this year, to dramatically reduce unemployment in the country.

It is also meant to build businesses that will follow the path of business role models such as Zoomlion, UT Holdings, Antrak and Kama among many others.

The Vice President, John Dramani Mahama, who announced this in a speech read on his behalf by the Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, at the second UT Bank Ghana Entrepreneur Awards ceremony held in Accra  said this was part of government’s efforts at leading the way on how to work with small business holders who had been trained and set up under the LESDEP.

The awards is an initiative of Entrepreneurs Foundation of Ghana, in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Deloitte and Touche.

The awards are to honour outstanding Ghana and foreign resident entrepreneurs in small, medium and large enterprises for their contribution to supporting economic growth and job creation in Ghana.

This year’s event was on the theme “Unleashing Entrepreneurial Capabilities to meet the Global challenges of the 21st century”.  

The Vice President said government was helping the LESDEP beneficiaries by awarding them contracts for the free school uniforms.  To this end, “I believe that when government pounds on your door to mentor the graduates of LESDEP, you will be favourably disposed to assisting,” the Vice President said.

 “Some of these young people can become successful entrepreneurs with the right paradigm shift and mentoring from you,” The Vice President challenged CEOs who attended the entrepreneur awards ceremony to go a step further to identify high impact budding entrepreneurs in Ghana to mentor and assist.

He said this would result in a movement that would catalyse long term economic growth of the country.

“Let’s collaborate with the universities and polytechnics to provide entrepreneurship clinics that will whip their interest in self employment, and new venture creation” Mr Mahama said.

  He emphasised that the success story of Korea was spurred by the Daewoo’s, the Hyundais, and the Samsung group among others.

Similarly, he added that the miraculous transformation of Singapore into an economic giant was on the back of outstanding entrepreneurial initiatives of individuals who had embraced opportunities and stood up to conquer the challenges in their business environment.

He observed that even though there were risks in running business in Ghana, there were also great rewards and challenges which were becoming more surmountable than some decades ago.

  In addition, he advised businesses to establish good succession plans and adopt sound business practices that would ensure that businesses traversed several generations just as some companies in India, the Arab land and Asia had survived 3rd and 4th generations.

In all, 30 entrepreneurs won awards under various categories with Jospong Group of Companies adjudged as the overall best entrepreneur for the year 2011.

The Chief Executive of Jospong, Dr Joseph Siaw Agyepong, said they as entrepreneurs must be consulted and involved in solving the challenges facing Ghana as a nation.