Doing Business in Ghana Made Easier

Ghana ranks among the top 10 "reformers" worldwide who have made the most significant advances in the aggregate ease of doing business, according to the annual �Doing Business� report released by World Bank and the International Finance Corporation(IFC) on Tuesday.

The yearly report that tracks business reforms globally, lists only two African countries -- Ghana and Kenya -- in the top 10. High marks also go to Madagascar, Mozambique, Madagascar and Burkina Faso.
Singapore once again topped rankings for the best place in the world to do business, and Egypt is the leader in reforms to invite more business.

However, across the Sub-Saharan region, the report said business reforms are uneven, with six African countries occupying the last six positions in the list of 178 countries judged according to ease of doing business.
The IFC report, which looks at how government bureaucracy can affect, and often limit, business environments, also gave high marks for making it easier to conduct business to Croatia, Macedonia, Georgia, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, China and Bulgaria.

Doing business in Africa was once perceived as a difficult and complex undertaking. The reasons: the numerous processes associated with conducting business, combined with a fragile investment climate and inadequate infrastructure.
But, with fewer conflicts, more democratic elections, and economic growth rates that gradually have begun to compete with those of other developing regions, Africa is proving itself again a continent of positive change.

Developing nations compete with one another to move up on the World Bank rankings of 178 nations, figuring a better ranking will mean additional investment and, ultimately, economic growth.The report also becomes a way for the World Bank's private-sector unit, International Finance Corp., to encourage economic ministries to press ahead with market-friendly changes. A computer simulation model on a World Bank Web site, www.doingbusiness.org, lets officials see how changes in, say, their bankruptcy or tax rules would likely affect their standings.

Among the 10 areas tracked by the World Bank are regulations involved in starting businesses, obtaining licenses, registering property, getting credit, paying taxes and closing businesses. .
Source:GHP

Ghana Floods: Victims On the Brink Of Starvation

In Northern Ghana, the White Volta River is about four times wider than it is normally. Two farmers from Kpasenkpe community sit on a small pirogue watching the river that has inundated their maize fields, which were situated on its banks.

Here, around 400 km from the capital Accra, torrential rains started mid August."I lost everything, all my crops are destroyed. I had one hectare of maize and three hectares of grains," said Daniel Sebiyam, a farmer from Kpasenkpe.Around 3,000 people live in the community of Kpasenkpe. The crops growing in their fields - maize, rice, beans, soya beans and millet - were all washed away in the floods.Ghana Red Cross Society has been on hand to help people since the beginning of the floods.

Four hundred Red Cross volunteers have been mobilized in the affected area to assist the victims, provide first aid and health education. A Regional Disaster Response Team (RDRT) has visited communities in order to identify the worst affected people and get a better idea of the items most needed by families.Agambire Elishna, a Red Cross volunteer, has helped to register farmers to find out about their situations. "People are in urgent need of food. They are desperate and don't know what to do," he said.The weather conditions have been extremely difficult for the Northern and Upper East regions in Ghana this year.

First, there was drought for months and farmers were praying for rain. Then, the heaviest rains fell between 24-29 August, and it continued to rain day and night for about three weeks.The situation was aggravated when neighbouring Burkina Faso opened a flood gate of the Bagre dam, releasing an enormous amount of water into the White Volta River that flows into Ghana."In April, I lost my crops because there was no water but I planted again. Now I've lost the replanted crops in the floods. So there's nothing stored either," said Nelson T. Ndima, who has a wife and six children.The affected regions are known as the food basket of Ghana. The Northern region produces 40 per cent of the rice used in the county, and the Upper East has the highest production of yam in the country.

A six-member field assessment and coordination team (FACT) from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies arrived at Tamale, Northern Ghana, on Saturday. During the coming days, the FACT team will join Ghana Red Cross volunteers in visiting 200 more households in the affected districts in order to have a more precise picture of the disaster."We haven't been able to access all communities yet because of destroyed roads, broken bridges and the remoteness of the communities," said Benonita Bismark, head of operations at Ghana Red Cross.Although the water level in the flood zones dramatically dropped last week, the health situation remains difficult.

People suffer from diarrhoea, malaria and snake bites. Health centres are difficult to reach because of destroyed roads and there is a shortage of adequate medicines and clean water.An invasion of black flies has also caused problems among the population. In Kpasenkpe, people have been sent to hospital because of blurred vision and skin problems caused by the black flies."Now the amount of black flies has diminished because the government sprayed the area last week," said Mary Azindow, a mother of nine children.At least the Kpasenkpe residents have been able to save their houses, as these have been built on ground higher than the farm land. But in many parts of the Upper East region people lost not only their crops but also their homes - and have had to seek shelter in schools and churches.

On September 20, the International Federation launched a joint emergency appeal for Ghana and Togo for 2.5 million Swiss francs (US$ 2.1million, €1.5 million) to help 82,000 flood victims during the coming six months.
Source:International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) - Switzerland

Kufuor calls for global action on climate change

President John Agyekum Kufuor on Monday rallied the United Nations (UN) to lead a global response to face up to the challenges posed by climate change."A global vision with global resolve to plan and mobilise resources on an equally global scale for sustained solutions is imperative."

The world body, he said, must therefore, as a matter of urgency, marshal and mobilise both the developed and developing nations to appreciate the threat as universal, so that all would cooperate to save mankind.President Kufuor was contributing to a high-level discussion on "Climate Change" at the UN Headquarters in New York. He was one of the 20 Heads of State invited to participate in the event by the UN Chief Ban-Ki Moon.

"The Challenge of Adaptation: From Vulnerability to Resilience" was the theme.President Kufuor, who is Chairman of the AU, noted that in Africa and other poor countries across the world, the phenomenon was already making it difficult to guarantee the necessities of life.These countries including Ghana, he said, were feeling the impact of the change resulting from misinformed handling of the environment as well as effluence caused by the industrialized nations.He cited erratic rainfall, drought and desertification, floods and other weather-related disasters, and said, these were endangering human life and affecting agricultural productivity, food and water security.

Heavy rains recently flooded large swathe of countries in the West, Central and East Africa, leaving thousands of people in misery, submerging food crop farms, washed away roads and bridges and destroyed homes.The three Northern Regions of Ghana and parts of the Western Region devastated by the floods had been declared disaster zones and President Kufuor said, this had something to do with climate-change, if not wholly caused by it.He said the ability of the Continent and other developing countries to deal with the challenge was however, limited. General poverty, over-reliance on nature, especially in agriculture, little or no access to technology to adapt, or to mitigate the impact combined, make these countries vulnerable.

President Kufuor recognized the establishment of Funds like the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Trust Fund and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) for adaptation projects and said although these were in the right direction, they tended to be reactive and not substantial enough.He said they needed to be broadened to include, not only assistance for relief and adaptability but should be made more proactive for achieving the integrated long-term solutions the world must achieve for survival.
Source:GNA

Malaria strikes Two Brittish Girls On trial For Carrying Drugs

The two British schoolgirls accused of trying to smuggle £300,000 of cocaine out of Africa have both been struck down by malaria.Yetunde Diya and Yasemin Vatansever, who are both 16, were rushed into hospital after falling ill with fevers and flu-like symptons.Last night a narcotics officer who has been helping to look after them said: "Both girls have been very unwell - they are weak and listless.

"The pair - who each accepted £3,000 and a free holiday in return for "carrying a package" - are being held in squalid conditions in between court appearances.Their concrete cell is in a narcotics department building surrounded by open sewers - the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes which carry the disease that kills three million people a year.They are only allowed out for a daily shower, court appearances and - now - weekly trips to the hospital for treatment.

The girls, both students from North London, were arrested at the end of June as they tried to board a British Airways flight in Ghana. They were each carrying a laptop bag with 7lbs of cocaine stashed in secret pockets.They have both pleaded not guilty to drug smuggling. In July the Sunday Mirror was the first paper to gain access to the girls, who told us: "We have been stitched up. We just want to go home."The two former friends now barely speak, with Yetunde blaming Yasemin for persuading her to take part.Their trial is expected to last another fortnight. If found guilty they face up to three years behind bars in Ghana.
Source:sundaymirror.

System Failure rocks Akosombo

A system collapse experienced by the Volta River Authority (VRA) caused a nationwide shutdown on Thursday afternoon.
"Our system collapsed at 12:06 pm this afternoon. It affected the whole country," Ms Abla Fiadjoe, Ag. Director Corporate Services told the Ghana News Agency.
She said VRA restored power from its end within one hour but could not say when Electricity Company of Ghana would restore power to consumers.
Ms Fiadjoe said investigations were ongoing to establish the cause of the system collapse.
VRA now generates power from Akosombo, the Aboadze Thermal Plant and generators and receives power from Cote d'Ivoire through the inter-tie connection.
Ms Fiadjoe apologised for the inconvenience caused to the public.
Source:GNA

Nomination for NPP prez aspirants opens on Saturday

The official opening of nomination for presidential aspirants of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) opens on Saturday, the party said on Wednesday.A statement signed by Nana Ohene Ntow, General Secretary, said the nominations would begin at 0800 at the national headquarters.

It said aspiring presidential candidates or their agents could call at the headquarters for nomination forms from 0800 to 1700 hours on Saturday and from 0800 to 1700 on all weekdays until nominations closed. The fee for nomination forms is GH cedis 500 or five million cedis, payable in bankers draft.

About 20 people, many of them former ministers, have expressed their interest to contest the election to be the NPP's presidential candidate.

Flood Relief Effort ----France sends two choppers

France has sent two helicopters to assist in relief operations in Northern Ghana where floods have wrecked havoc over large areas in the three northern regions.A statement from the French Embassy in Accra said the two PUMA helicopters, which arrived in Tamale on Monday night, were sent following a request by the Government of Ghana to partners for assistance to sustain the relief operations in the area.

"These helicopters will transport government officials, United Nations and European Union teams to different places in order to help them in their evaluation of immediate relief needed in the affected areas," the statement said.Heavy rains since the end of last month have claimed up to 18 lives and displaced more than 250,000 people in the three Northern regions - Upper East, Upper West and Northern.

Roads and bridges have been washed away, houses have collapsed and large areas are under water.There are fears of hunger and health problems in the three regions.