Visiting Canada’s Governor-General tours Gratis Foundation

Canada’s Governor-General, Ms Michaelle Jean on Tuesday toured the Gratis Foundation at Tema as part of her official State visit to the country and expressed satisfaction with the operations there.

Mrs Cecilia Kafui Asibey-Bonsu, Quality Assurance and Materials Manager of Gratis, led the Governor-General to tour the Metal Machining; Welding/Fabrication; Woodworking/pattern Making; Foundry; Textile Training and Design Sections. Since 1987, Canada, through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), has provided approximately 13 million Canadain dollars about 105 billion cedis to assist the Gratis Foundation to promote the development of appropriate technologies and training in Ghana. She expressed satisfaction with the innovations introduced into the operations and entreated them to come out with quality products to be able to meet standards on the world market which has become highly competitive. Ms Jean was equally enthused on seeing the ladies working on the heavy machines and encouraged them to strive hard to rob shoulders with their men counterparts to be able to set up their own businesses. Seeing products like the boiling tank; steamer; palm oil expellant and palm fruit stripper among other devices, the Governor-General praised the officials of the Foundation for their ingenuity. The Governor-General, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of Canada, explained that her visit was to afford her the opportunity to see at first hand how her country’s financial contributions and investments were being utilized and also to strengthen the existing relations between the two countries. She noted that Ghana, with her vibrancy in civil society; right directions in governance and dynamism had the potential for rapid progress that could be an inspirer to the rest of Africa. With that she impressed on Ghanaians to take their destiny into their own hands and to strive to achieve successes through the new generation of entrepreneurship, which contributed to fast development. The Commander-in-Chief was accompanied by Mrs Margaret Amoakohene, Ghana’s Ambassador to Canada, and Mr Don Bobiash, Canada’s Ambassador to Ghana. Gratis Foundation is a non-governmental foundation that promotes marketable technologies and entrepreneurial skills for the growth of industry and business enterprises in Ghana and West Africa. Its activities among other things manufacturing with a focus on agriculture/agro processing; the provision of environmental/sanitation equipment; technology-based training aimed at equipping trainees with the requisite technical, vocational and entrepreneurial skills.GNA

Kuffour to Attend 1st African South American Summit

President Kuffour will be in Nigeria tomorrow to attend the First Afrcian South American Summit.

The maiden Abuja summit will see south american countries and their African counterparts forge deeper bilateral relations to better the lives of their people.

The president will be accompanied by Ghana's foreign minister Nana Akuffo Addo. They are expected back on Thursday.

Governor General of Canada in Ghana

Governor General of Canada Michaelle Jean takes part in a dance while the President of Ghana John Agyekum Kufur looks on during an arrival ceremony for Jean at Kotoka airport in Accra, Ghana, Monday.

BoG explains the re-denomination of cedi

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) on Monday said the design and the features of the new notes and coins, which would replace the current cash in circulation, would soon be made known to the public.

Briefing the press in Accra, Mr Van Lare Dosoo, First Deputy Governor of the Bank, said there would be practical guidelines and a coherent education programme for the public before the switch to the new denomination.

He said the Ghana Cedi to be introduced in July 2007 would receive legislation from Parliament to validate it use. The Governor, Dr Paul Acquah last Saturday announced the re-denomination of the cedis by setting 10,000 cedis to one new Ghana Cedi (GH Cedi) which would also be equivalent to 100 Ghana Pesewas (Gp).

This means that 500,000 cedis would be equivalent to 50GH Cedis; 200,000 cedis would be equivalent to 20GH cedis; 100,000 cedis would be equivalent to and 10GH cedis; 5,000 cedis would be equivalent to 50Gp; 2,000 cedis would be equivalent to 20Gp and 1,000 cedis would be equivalent to 10Gp.

The series of the new set of notes would be 0ne GH Cedi, Five GH Cedis, 10 GH cedis, 20 GH cedis and 50 GH cedis whilst the coins take 1Gp, 5Gp, 10Gp, 20Gp, 50Gp.

Both the old and new cedi bank notes and coins would be in physical circulation for a period of six months after which the old notes and coins would only be exchanged at the Bank of Ghana and any commercial or rural bank. After the period, the old notes would not be legal tender but could be exchanged at the banks for the new currency.

The external value of both the old and new currencies would be the same as the purchasing power would not change because the cedi would not be devalued or re-valued. Explaining the rationale further to journalists at the press briefing, Dr Ernest Addison, Head of Research, BoG, said experience elsewhere had shown that re-denomination of a currency by dropping zeros in the relative prices of domestic price relation led to significant efficiency gains in the context of strong economic fundamentals and macroeconomic stability.

This, he said, was the situation characterizing Ghana’s economy today hence the major policy decision. He said the growth environment of the economy was strong and positive, with all the underlining conditions such as inflation, interest rates, money supply and exchange rates showing good expectation of policy credibility.

Dr Addison said the benefits the new notes and coins would bring to the economy were incalculable. He said it would reduce the cost and overall risk of carrying large sums of notes, inject efficiency in the payment system, in particular the use of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), and simplify accounting records.

Dr Addison said it would also reintroduce the culture of using coins in Ghana, promote tourism expenditures, make significant gains in cost of bank notes production and facilitate the introduction of the use of vendor machines and car parking meters. Dwelling on the implementation process, Ms Catherine Ashieley of the Issues Depart of the BoG, said 49 countries world wide had successful gone through the process of re-denomination.

She said research analysis had shown that within the first three months of introduction, about 75 per cent to 80 per cent of the old currency was likely to be withdrawn from circulation since most people would like to switch to the new denomination as early as possible.GNA

Regional workshop on Government Securities opens

Dr Chris Itsede, Director-General of the West African Institute for Financial Management (WAIFEM), said on Monday that a good government securities market was essential to facilitate the achievement of monetary objectives.

In a speech read for him by Mr Arthur Ankrah, Director Financial Sector Management Department of WAIFEM, at a regional workshop on pricing and marketing of Government Securities, Dr Itsede said the securities market was an alternative to central bank funding of budget deficit because of its minimal distortion on monetary policy.

Besides, it provided instruments for effective monetary policy management. The one-week course is necessitated by the growing pressure on most countries to bridge financing gaps through reliance on domestic sources and also because domestic mobilisation is crucial to the launch of the West African Monetary Zone. Dr Itsede said the existence of such a market could enable the Government to respond to shocks, he said.

He said when a Government Securities Market was complemented with a sound domestic debt management strategy; it could relax the fiscal burden by reducing debt service costs over the medium to long term period thereby reducing Government exposure to interest rate and other financial risks.

At the microeconomic level, such a market could strengthen overall financial stability, enhance financial intermediation and spur competition among financial services providers. "As Government and Private Sector Securities Markets develop, commercial banks tend to develop related financial infrastructure and products and intermediate credit more competitively."

But for a successful development of the Market, conditions such as a sound macro-economic policy framework, prudent and sustainable fiscal policies, property rights and an effective legal, tax and regulatory infrastructure are required. Also important are efficient and secure settlement mechanisms and a liberalized financial system.

Dr Itsede called for the nurturing of primary dealers while a secondary dealer system was being evolved.GNA

Asantehene's convoy involves in accident

Barely 24 hours after the convoy of Vice-President Aliu Mahama got involved in a motor accident that claimed the lives of three security details, another accident involving the convoy of Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has occurred in Brong Ahafo.

An eyewitness, Mr. Kwame Siaw, a teacher, told the Ghana News Agency on telephone he was on board a metro mass transit bus when the accident occurred near Bawuah Farms at Nsoatre, off the Sunyani-Berekum road.He said a Mercedes Benz saloon car driven by one of the sub-chiefs in the Asantehene's convoy, in an attempt to avoid hitting the vehicle in front of him veered off the road and somersaulted into the bush.

The convoy was travelling to Seikwa in Tain district to attend the 15th anniversary celebration of the enstoollment of Nana Kweku Dwuma Ankoana II, Omanhene of Seikwa Traditional Area and the launch of an Educational Endowment Fund.Meanwhile the injured have been taken to the Berekum Governemnt Hospital and are responding to treatment.

When contacted, Chief Superintendent Christian Yohonu, Commander of Sunyani Municipal Police confirmed the incident.In another development, the four injured persons in the accident at Chiraa, near Sunyani, involving the Vice President's convoy were reported to be responding to treatment at the Regional Hospital in Sunyani when GNA visited the hospital.

They are Mr. Peter Ekpedzor, 46, driver, Mr. Awortwi Bonni Fred, 25, bondman, Mr. Edward Bediako 28 and Mr. Abdul Rahman, 35, both cameramen of Metro TV.

The names of the dead were not disclosed as the hospital's authorities said they were waiting for directives from the Vice President's office before they could do so.Meanwhile, Barima Afari Minta II, Chief of Chiraa, has, on behalf of the chiefs and people of the area expressed condolences and sympathy to President Kufuor and Vice President Aliu Mahama and the families of the victims of the accident.

In a telephone conversation with the Ghana News Agency, the chief said the chiefs and people were really saddened at the incident and expressed the hope that all Ghanaians would console with the bereaved families of the victims who suffered in the course of rendering services to the state.

He reiterated his appeal for a re-designing of the road from Sunyani to Techiman to avoid the recurrence of such accidents and the subsequent loss of lives.The chief noted that the nature of the road had made it accident-prone, culminating in many deaths in this year alone.

Nana Afari cited that there are as many as 35 curves on the road, coupled with many hilly points and this had made it quite difficult for drivers not conversant with the nature of the road to ply on it safely.
Source:GNA

Veep in Accident - Three Die

One of the cars in the Vice President, Aliu Mahama’s convoy was yesterday involved in a fatal motor accident at Chira, near Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region, at about 2:30pm.

At least two people, believed to be the vice president’s security guards, died on the spot, while a third died at the hospital.

The convoy was en route to Sunyani after paying a courtesy call on the Omanhene of Techiman Traditional Area, Oseadeyo Akumfi Ameyaw IV, and inspecting the up-grading project of the Asuogyaman Secondary School in Awirewa,Techiman.

One of the seven persons on board the Land Cruiser, with registration number GR978W, died instantly while the other died on the way to the hospital.

Five others including media personnel and the driver sustained various degrees of injury, with one in a very critical condition.

The five, who are receiving treatment at the Sunyani regional hospital, are likely to be flown to the 37 Military Hospital today for further treatment.

The bodies of the deceased have been deposited in the morgue awaiting autopsy.

The site of the tragedy is said to be a flash point, known for such fatal accidents.

It is a sharp curve on a slope and drivers who are not familiar with the road run into frequent accidents.

The driver of the vehicle, which was directly behind that of the Vice President’s, is said to have veered off the road in an attempt to prevent his car from hitting the vice’s and consequently somersaulted. The vehicle which had one of its front tires busted was damaged beyond repair.

An eyewitness explained that about seven cars behind the accident vehicle, including that of the Vice President’s would have suffered the same fate, but for the skillfulness of the driver.

At the time of filing this report, the driver was also receiving treatment.

In a related development one of the Vice President’s dispatch riders was also thrown off his motor-bike, while traveling to Techiman earlier in the morning.

The front tyre of the bike busted around Yawhimah, 10 minutes drive from Sunyani.

He was apparently saved because of his helmet.