Economy sound for offshore banking

Central Bank Governor, Dr. Paul Acquah on Friday assured investors, who would want to take advantage of the offshore banking facility, that the country had in place a tight regulatory environment to protect their funds.Speaking at the launch of the first ever off-shore banking facility in West Africa, which is a joint venture between the government and Barclays Bank, Dr. Acquah said the Banking Act and other pieces of legislation should offer investors the necessary guarantee that the country was a safe haven for them to lodge their funds.

Offshore banking is the provision of tailor-made banking services for non-resident, expatriates and institutions to save their money abroad rather than those in their home countries. It offers a tax efficient environment for a wide range of savings and investment products.The management of Barclays Bank Ghana Limited was granted a General Banking License by the Bank of Ghana to operate the facility under the International Banking Component of the International Financial Services Centre.The International Financial Services Centre, which is part of a comprehensive financial sector development programme, will have a full range of non-bank financial services.Dr. Acquah described the launch of the centre as a significant landmark in banking in the country, attributing the achievement to the sound economic performance in the last six years and stable political environment.He urged the management of Barclays to exhibit strong operational strength and integrity to meet the best practices in the world, saying it was the only way that the country would enjoy the benefits of the International Financial Services Centre.Finance Minister Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu enumerated the advantages that would accrue to the country with the launch of the offshore banking facility.These include making available a pool of capital inflows that institutions and companies could tap into to spur the country's economic development as well as enhanced country's revenue generation.Mr. Frits Seegers, Chief Executive Officer, Global Retail and Commercial Banking Barclays said the initiative would put Ghana into prominence in the financial arena and promote cross-border business within the West Africa sub-region."By becoming an international financial services centre, Ghana will see benefits including new jobs, increased foreign exchange inflows, and skills transfer in international banking. This will place Ghana on the map for international financial markets, opening new markets that have not been available before."Mrs Margaret Mwanakatwe, Managing Director of Barclays Ghana Limited, said the bank was committed and prepared to deal with the challenges associated with international banking services. She said Barclays would offer such services without compromising efficient and effective customer service.
Source:GNA

Kufuor launches Ghana's landmark offshore banking

Ghana on Friday celebrated a historic landmark in its banking industry with the launch by President John Agyekum Kufuor of In-Country Offshore Banking Services in Accra. The facility, a joint venture of Ghana and the Barclays Bank, is the first of its kind to be established in West Africa and is seen as an important step towards the realization of the Government's vision of making the country a major financial hub of the Sub-Region. It would provide banking services to non-resident customers by creating a portfolio of assets and liabilities and other investment products.This way the country is expected to gain through more foreign exchange inflows, job creation and skills transfer in international banking.Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama, Ministers of State, Members of Parliament and Government delegations from Nigeria, Togo, C=F4te d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso attended the ceremony.President Kufuor said the Government was fully aware of the numerous challenges and difficulties inherent in the operation of the facility and gave the assurance that the necessary safeguards had been put in place to stave off abuses.Legal and administrative measures, he said, had been enacted to provide the needed checks and balances within the economy in particular and society in general."These measures should promote best practices in service delivery. More importantly, they should affirm the good faith and determination of the entire society to make Ghana a safe, secure and peaceful environment for investment."President Kufuor, through whose initiative the offshore banking had become a reality, said the nation already was acknowledged as investor-friendly and asked that the "Project" should exploit this positive image in securing the confidence of foreign and domestic customers.It must help to transform the financial system for accelerated socio-economic development."It is gratifying that the results of the years of hard work on the macro-economy and the commitment to good governance are yielding fruits. The economy is stable, inflation and interest rates are declining while the Cedi maintains its value against major trading currencies."
Source:GNA

Parliament Is A Rubber Stamp - MP

Hon P.C. Appiah-Ofori, the Member of Parliament for Asikuma Odoben Brakwa has stated that the current parliament is a rubber stamp, dedicated with blindly approving all that the government pushes before it. He has also stated that the current government only rewards those who sing its praises, and that all those who dedicate themselves to offering criticism of government policies and programmes can only expect to be denied the right to serve in government.

Hon. P.C. Appiah-Ofori, who is a leading member of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) made these claims during a news programme on an Accra based radio station on Wednesday.Speaking to newsmen in reaction to a recent report by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) that there is a perception that parliament is a rubber stamp, Hon Appiah Ofori expressed his agreement.“Yes I agree with the CDD. When a motion is brought into parliament members make it a case of towing party lines so therefore vote on party lines,’ Hon. Appiah Ofori said. He said that the phenomenon does not allow development for Ghana. Explaining his point, he said that the former Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) passed the Minerals Law in 1986 which was too favourable for the mining companies.He said that when the NPP came to power it decided to change the law and he suggested that a clause be put in the law to make it mandatory for the mining companies to retain a high percentage of their earnings in Ghana.“I did all I could but none of them supported me. After the motion was off the table some of the MPs came to me and said P.C. what you said was true,” he said. He said that the MPs refused to support him because they were afraid.“They are the people who get the ministerial positions,” he said.Asked if expressing critical thought would militate against one getting a position in government, Hon. Appiah-Ofori answered in the affirmative, and said that he did not go to parliament to get a ministerial position, but to serve.“My people did not vote for me to go and enrich myself, they voted me to go and help build the country for the voters to also enjoy the good life. So when government brings the policy and it is not good for the people of Ghana I will not support it,” he said.
Source:Searchlight

All Prez Aspirants Urged To Declare Assets

Dr Kwaku Osafo, a developing economist, has launched his bid to be elected as the presidential candidate of the Convention People's Party (CPP) for Election 2008 and challenged all aspirants to publicly declare their assets."I urge all presidential aspirants of all political parties to publicly declare their assets now and all selected presidential candidates to declare publicly within three months of being selected.""Whoever wins the presidential elections should publicly declare his or her assets before taking office," Dr Osafo said in Accra on Wednesday.Dr Osafo is the second to publicly declare his intention to contest the CPP presidential slot after Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa, a former Director General of the Ghana Health Service.Other aspirants are Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, a former Minister of Public Sector Reform, Mr Bright Akwetey, a lawyer, and Mr George Opersika Aggudey, CPP's presidential candidate in Election 2004.Dr Osafo said under his presidency all ministers and senior officials appointed should publicly declare their assets within three months of taking office "to demonstrate our fight against corruption.""For the first time in the history of this country, I am declaring the hardware of my assets and the means of their acquisition even as a party presidential aspirant to demonstrate in no uncertain terms that corruption will not be tolerated in my administration."He said his administration would enter into agreements with international banks, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to divulge secret accounts of the president's ministers and all high government officials including the police, military and the judiciary."Corruption, stealing of public funds, sheer graft and greed have eaten into our modern political fabric and should be thoroughly dry cleaned," Dr Osafo.Dr Osafo published his assets in a booklet he made available to journalists.He said he generated his income as a World Bank expert for 8 years and later as Economics Advisor for the African Development Bank."My total income during this period was between 1.3 to 1.5 million dollars from which my various investments were made. As president I shall duly inform the Ghanaian public every year on the state of my assets and liabilities," he said
Source:GNA