Nii Moi Thompson...Utility companies don’t deserve tariff hikes

The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission is expected to announce tariff increase of between 35 and 40 percent for electricity and water following a proposal by the utility companies to have their tariffs adjusted upward to meet their increased cost of production. They also say it will enable them to improve on their service delivery. But in a paper titled “the case against higher utility tariffs”, an Economist Dr Nii Moi Thompson argues that various tariff increases in the past, in addition to loans contracted have made little impact on their service delivery. He told Joy News that the inefficiencies of the utility companies must first be addressed before asking the public to pay more.

Nii Moi-Thompson aregued that in the recent past the government, based on arguements for a tariff increase, guaranteed huge loans for the companies which unfortunaletly did not reflect in any service improvement."In the case of Ghana water company there was $110.7 million in internationally guaranteed loans and then Electricity Company of Ghana, $143.1 million ...without explaining to us what happened to thses huge sums of money."The PURC has told Joy News that it will provide final figures on the quantum of increase and effective date of implementation by close of Tuesday.

It however provided a conservative estimate of 35 percent. The decision comes closely on the heels of government announcement of an end to the year-long energy crisis which affected effective supply of electricity and water. Interest groups in the energy and water sector have been making a case for the increases citing the need for full cost recovery and the need to improve on the infrastructure to guarantee good service delivery.

Kuffour Leaves For Addis-Ababa Tomorrow

President John Agyekum Kufuor will leave Accra on Wednesday for a three-day visit to Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia, during which he will hold high level consultations with the African Union (AU) Commission on some urgent matters including recent attacks suffered by African peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur region.

Rebels in the troubled Darfur region have reportedly attacked members of the AU peacekeeping force, killing at least 10 troops and seizing 40 others. A statement signed by Mr Andrew Awuni, Press Secretary to the President and Presidential Spokesman, said while in Addis Ababa, President Kufuor would hold discussions with Ethiopian President Meles Zenawi and also meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is leading a German parliamentary group on a visit to the AU Headquarters.

At the last summit of industrialised nations held in Heiligendamm, Chancellor Merkel, currently the G-8 President, pledged her commitment to debt relief programmes and raising development aid funds for Africa. The President is expected back home on October 5, the statement said.

Ghana Increases cocoa producer price

President John Agyekum Kufuor on Monday announced an upward adjustment of the producer price of cocoa from GH 9,015 cedis (9.15 million cedis) per tonne to GH 9,050 cedis (9.5 million cedis), effective from the 2007/2008 main crop season. With this, the Ghanaian farmer's share of the FOB now stands at 72.11 per cent up from the less than 50 per cent, they were receiving seven years ago.

The increase comes at a time when the price of cocoa on the international market had dropped from 1,900 dollars to about 1,500 dollars.Addressing this year's Cocoa Day at Bibiani in the Western Region, President Kufuor said the Government has also directed the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to ensure that bonus to farmers was paid in two installments every year.The first would be in July and the final payment before the end of the year.

The arrangement is meant to help them with funds, in the absence of micro-credit schemes, to support their children+IBk-s education at the start of the academic year.President Kufuor said other interventions introduced include the increase of the COCOBOD scholarship award beneficiaries from 2,500 students to 7,500, tarring of a total of 531 kilometres of roads linking cocoa growing communities in the six cocoa farming regions, distribution of 1,000,000 treated mosquito nets and the provision of solar street lights and solar torch lights.These, he said, were aimed at making sure that farmers would not only enjoy tangible benefits of their hard work but also discourage the drift of the youth to urban areas.

He said the Government's policy measures since the year 2001 had not only rejuvenated the cocoa sector but improved the real returns to farmers.President Kufuor used the day to convey the nation+IBk-s gratitude to the Ghanaian cocoa farmer for the invaluable contribution to the economy.The Finance and Economic Planning Minister, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, said the Government was determined to ensure that loans were given to farmers at reasonable interest rates.He said they wanted to see agricultural interest rate pegged between 5-10 per cent with a maturity period of between 5 and 10 years. Mrs Frema Opare Osei, Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, advised the farmers not to use children for labour-intensive and any other jobs on their farms likely to pre-dispose them to hazardous chemicals.Mr Isaac Osei, the Chief Executive of COCOBOD, warned that the Board would not allow cheating of the farmers through the adjustment of weighing scales by unscrupulous Purchasing Clerks.He said achieving the twin vision of increasing cocoa production and processing of 40 per cent of the output required hard work and encouraged the farmers to take advantage of the various interventions such as the mass cocoa spraying and hi-tech fertilizers to boost their output.Nana Yaw Gyebi, Omanhene of Anhwiaso, appealed to the Government to see to it that cocoa processing factories were sited closer to the cocoa producing areas.The Western Region produces 57 per cent of Ghana's total cocoa output.There were fraternal messages from the Cocoa Producers Alliance and the International Cocoa Organisation. The theme for the Day was Process and Consume more cocoa for good health and Economic Growth.
Source:GNA

We Saw It Coming..Agbeko is IBF Champion!

In the co-feature championship bout to Dawson/Mendoza between IBF Bantamweight titlist Luis "El Demoledor" Perez and Joseph "King Kong" Agbeko the action was plentiful from bell one as the challenger Agbeko from Ghana showed why Ghanaian fighters are some of the toughest the world has ever seen.

Knowing full well the Champion had trouble making weight (Perez missed by a half pound and had to run it off) "King Kong" went to the body early and often. A series of straight rights followed by a left hook rocked Perez but he came right back and both men traded all around the ring. Agbeko seemed to get the better of the action through out however showing superior defense and a better jab.

There were no knockdowns, but, before the start of the eighth round, ringside physician Smith Ketchum, in his second visit to Pérez's corner, looked into the ex-champion's eyes with a flashlight and decided he could no longer continue.
"He was neurologically deteriorating from multiple head blows," Ketchum said.
The stoppage drew an immediate protest from the ex-champion, but he was taken to a local hospital for observation.

"It was my destiny to become world champion, and he wasn't going to stop me from my dream," said an ecstatic Agbeko, who entered the ring as the IBF's No. 15 contender and won every round on the judges' scorecards.
Pérez's manager, Kendrick Garcia, said he will ask for a rematch. If so, his fighter, who was making his first title defense, might want to do a better job monitoring his training habits.
Pérez came close to forfeiting the title twice on the scales. At Friday's weigh-in, he came in a half-pound over the 118-pound limit. Seventy-five minutes later, after a long jog, he finally made the weight as Agbeko, 116 3/4, stood smiling nearby.

Under IBF rules, boxers in Pérez's weight class can't be more than 10 pounds over 118 the day of the fight. Pérez, though, was over a fraction over 118 pounds again at a Saturday morning weigh-in and had to take that excess off as well.
The ordeal might have taken its toll. By the second round, a backpedaling Pérez already appeared to be tiring against the aggressive Agbeko.
Meanwhile, King said that despite a smaller crowd than he had envisioned, he plans to return to Sacramento for more shows.
"It isn't a question of if I'm coming back. I am," he said. "
Source:GHP

Ghana----Load shedding is over

The public is to enjoy twenty-four hours of electric supply starting October 1st, 2007 as the national load shedding programme, which commenced in August 2006 has been terminated. A statement issued in Accra on Saturday by the Energy Minister, Mr Joseph Kofi Adda, said the decision was taken following a review of the power supply situation between government and the power utilities.

The statement said the deployment of the Compact Fluorescent Lamps was now in full force and encouraged all power consumers to cooperate with the implementation teams to ensure that incandescent bulbs were replaced with energy saving lamps.It reminded the public on the need to continue to conserve energy and asked all Ministries, Departments and Agencies as well as other public institutions to continue to comply with directives issued by the government on the use of air conditioning and lighting systems in buildings and offices.

The statement expressed appreciation to the public for its support and fortitude during the implementation of the load management programme and assured the public that measures being undertaken would ensure reliable and sustainable supply of power in the future.
Source:GNA

MoFA Declares--No More Bird Flu In Ghana

The Minister of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) has announced that Ghana is now an Avian Influenza-free country.

The ministry has therefore lifted all the quarantine measures and restrictions imposed on the movement of live poultry and poultry products in and out of the Tema and Sunyani municipalities as well as the Keta District of the Volta Region. Deputy Sector Minister in-charge of Livestock, Hon. Anna Nyamekye made this known at the weekly Meet-The-Press series in Accra yesterday.However, the ban on the importation of live birds and all poultry products from affected countries, she said, is still in force, stressing, “all security agencies along the country’s borders should continue to be vigilant and ensure that live birds and poultry products do not enter the country”.

According to Hon. Nyamekye, since Avian Influenza, also known as Bird Flu, is still present on the globe and in the West African sub-region, poultry farmers should endeavour to continue to ensure maximum bio-security on their farms so as to prevent the entry of the virus onto their farms.She noted that as part of efforts by the ministry and its related bodies to prevent the recurrence of the virus, MOFA and the various Veterinary Services Directorates would continue to educate the public on the disease as well as start the training of poultry farmers on the importance of bio-security on their farms.She indicated that the ministry in consultation with the Ghana Poultry Development Board has so far disbursed over ¢1.5 billion as compensation to farmers who had their birds destroyed as a result of the Bird Flu outbreak in May this year.“As at the time of the resolution of all the cases, 13.371 birds had died whilst a total of 27,356 birds were destroyed as part of our control measures.

“Farmers whose birds had to be destroyed have been paid reasonable compensation at rates agreed upon by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the Ghana Poultry Development Board,” emphasised the deputy Minister. Hon. Nyamekye, flanked by officials from the Veterinary Services Department, reminded the general public that though there had been no reported human infections during the outbreaks, they should continue to wash hands thoroughly with soap and water and ensure that all poultry products were well cooked before eating.

It would be recalled that on Wednesday, May 2 this year, Ghana reported its first case of the Avian Influenza virus. The virus was first detected on a small-scale poultry farm on April 24, 2007 within the Tema Municipality. The disease was later detected on another farm at Asuokwa in the Sunyani Municipality and on a small-scale poultry farm at Aflao in the Ketu District of the Volta Region. These detections prompted the sector ministry and the Veterinary Services Department to adopt prevention measures including the destruction of affected birds to avoid further spread of the virus.
Source:Daily Graphic

Ghana Makes Marginal Gain On CPI Scale

Ghana ranked 69th among 180 countries on the 2007 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) with a total score of 3.7 points, showing a slight improvement over last year's 70th position with a score of 3.3 points.This was contained in the CPI annual report compiled by Transparency International (TI) and launched across the world on Wednesday.

Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), the local affiliate of TI, which compiles the CPI on an annual basis, did the Accra launch.Mr Vitus Azeem, Executive Secretary of GII, told journalists that Ghana's current position showed a meagre improvement in the fight against corruption, and there was no cause for celebration."The fact is that Ghana is still stagnating between the score of 3 and 4 and has yet to attain the half way score of 5," he said. Globally only 46 (25.5 per cent) out of 180 countries scored five and above, and these were mostly developed countries.The criteria for awarding scores include grand political corruption, likelihood of encountering corrupt officials, misuse of public office for private or political party gain, level of achievement of anti-corruption efforts and country policy and industrial assessments.At the 69th position, Ghana fell behind only six 49 African countries named in the report. The six are Botswana (38), South Africa (43), Cape Verde (49), Mauritius (53), Namibia (57) and Tunisia (61). They scored between 4.2 and 5.4 points.Ghana scored the highest among all the West African countries, with Togo placing as low as 143 with a score of 2.3 points and Nigeria placing 147 with 2.2 points.Somalia, which is described as a failed state without a properly installed government, placed last on the rankings with 1.4 points. Iraq ranked 178 with 1.5 points.Mr Azeem advised government to introduce anti-money laundering measures to stop Ghana being a safe haven for stolen assets, stressing that multi-national companies must be made to implement effective anti-bribery codes to ensure that they were adhered to by subsidiaries and foreign officers.He also urged politicians involved in campaigning ahead of the 2008 elections to exercise their rights in a manner that would ensure the practicality of a free and fair election, which is necessary to prevent political corruption.The ninth position occupied by Norway with 8.7 points raised concerns at the launch, given the recent scandal involving the Norwegian-based Scancem, the mother company of GHACEM in Ghana. Mr Bede Zieden, Acting General Secretary of the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP), noted that it was worrying that though it had been made sufficiently clear that a Norwegian company schemed a plan to corrupt the governments of developing countries, Norway scored high to place ninth on the CPI."I think they should have scored lower on grounds of exporting corruption to developing countries," he said.Dr Audrey Gadzekpo, a Director at GII, noted that no country could be accused of exporting corruption when developing countries themselves had weaker integrity systems and institutions.She said developing countries needed to strengthen their integrity systems and laws to make corruption less attractive and expensive for foreign multi-nationals.Dr Gadzekpo noted that though corruption was used based on perception, it did not mean corruption was non-existent and government actors should be seen to pursue the perception to establish the reality instead of demanding proof before taking action."The meeting point between the perception and the reality is in the commitment of government to work with civil society following leads to stem corruption," she said.
Source:GNA