Go beyond oil and minerals extraction in Africa - Kufuor

The Sixth African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum opened in Accra on Wednesday with a demand by President John Agyekum Kufuor on private sector operators in the United States (US) to increase their investments in Africa beyond the extractive industries of oil and precious minerals. He identified agro-processing, manufacturing and tourism as some key areas they could put their money into to assist in technology transfer and build the Continent's capacity to become more competitive and effective partners in trade.

Additionally, they should also look at the re-location of industries and outsourcing Information Communication Technology (ICT) contracts to the Region. The programme ends in 2015 and this, President Kufuor said, must be extended by five years to give Africa space to take full advantage of the opportunity. "Given the time constraint and the very serious capacity challenges, we must admit, Africa can hardly exploit the benefits of this huge initiative anywhere to the full. "I will therefore appeal, first to the US Government to extend the time of AGOA to 20 years, then to the countries in Africa as well as our development partners in the US to design and implement a specific and efficacious vehicle targeted at empowering African nations in terms of capacity building." President Kufuor said AGOA benefits must not be seen only from the perspective of the African.

He quoted the statement made by US President George Bush, while signing the AGOA Acceleration Act in 2004: "When America sells to Africa, it means employment for somebody in America" and said the programme, should, therefore, work both ways to everyone's advantage. President Kufuor noted that AGOA complemented by the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) assured Africa of America's goodwill. The three-day forum is providing the platform for Trade Ministers from the 39 AGOA qualified countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, representatives of the private sector, Civil Society groups and US officials to discuss ways of increasing US-Africa trade. The theme is: "As Trade Grows, Africa Prospers: Optimising the Benefits under AGOA." AGOA, a legislative initiative, opens up the US market to eligible countries to export over 6,400 duty-free and quotation-free products, estimated at more than 10 trillion dollars without reciprocity. Imports from Africa under this initiative totalled 44.2 billion dollars in 2006, a five-fold increase over 2001, when the programme began.

The increase involved mostly crude oil and apparel exports. The Head of the US Delegation, Ms Susan Schwab, said her country, was determined to serve as a strategic partner with Africa and would not stop, until the Continent has realised its enormous potentials. She noted that if the Region could increase its share of the global trade, which stood at two per cent, by a single percentage, it would be generating 70 billion dollars annually. This would be about three times the amount of development assistance it has been receiving. Ms Schwab spoke of the need for enhanced intra-African trade and South-South trading and re-affirmed the US commitment to reducing agricultural trade distortions. Ms Schwab, who is the Trade Advisor to President Bush, described the future of Africa as full of hope saying, there was now a new breed of political leaders, who were determined to turn the economic fortunes of the Continent around.

Mr Allan Kyerematen, Minister of Trade, in a welcoming address called for a conscious effort to coordinate and tailor US technical assistance programmes to support the capacity requirement of African countries to implement AGOA related activities. There was also the need to reinforce measures to draw more foreign direct investment from US companies to the continent. Mr Kyerematen, who is also responsible for Industry, Private Sector Development and President’s Special Initiative, suggested the establishment of an AGOA Fund and other financial instruments to support small and medium scale enterprises.

US President Bush in a pre-recorded message to the forum said this was a time of promise to the people of Africa and that the US would stand with the Region.GNA

Saudi Embassy hands over medical supplies to MOH

The Saudi Arabian Government on Wednesday handed over about six tonnes of medical supplies to the Ministry of Health to support health care delivery. The supplies included antibiotics; cough syrups; oral re-hydration salts (ORS); surgical antiseptics; measles vaccines and painkillers.

Mr Sameer Mahmoud Aggad, Ambassador of the Royal Saudi Arabia, said the presentation formed part of a free two-week medical outreach programme organised by the Saudi Government. The 20-member health team had camped at Nima in Accra for the past two weeks where it provided general health care and other specialized services such as Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) and paediatrics. He said the team, which included three women gynaecologists and a paediatrician, treated about 200 people daily during their two-week programme.

Mr Aggad stated that the medical outreach programme and the presentation of the drugs signified the strong relationship that existed between the two countries and pledged his country's support to assist Ghana in ensuring quality health care delivery. Major Courage Quashigah (rtd), Minister of Health, thanked the Saudi Government for the gesture and appealed to the Ambassador to negotiate for a possible exchange programme between the two countries to ensure expanded knowledge of health professionals from both countries.

He commended the Embassy for being the first donor country to abide by the rules spelt out in the donation manual of the Ministry. "Previously, the Ministry was receiving expired drugs and obsolete equipment, which became a nuisance so we decided to come out with a donation manual to guide benevolent organizations who want to donate such items to us and the Saudis have followed the instructions in the manual and we are grateful," the Minister said.GNA

Lufthansa's Comments, Pure Mischief -Aviation Minister

Aviation Minister, Honorable Gloria Akuffo has described as unfortunate and mischievous a statement from Lufthansa Airlines saying they have cancelled all flights to Ghana.
The German Airline issued a statement yesterday saying that they have no option but to take Ghana off their destination map since government has indicated that it is giving them only one option of flying twice a week from Accra to Frankfurt and vice versa.
This follows the expiration of government’s certification for the airlines’ daily flights to Accra.
The directive left several passengers stranded at the Airport in Frankfurt unable to connect a flight to Accra on Saturday.
Speaking to CITI FM, Aviation Minister, Gloria Akuffo says negotiations are still on-going and government has no intention of turning its back on Lufthansa. She emphasized that the airline’s behavior is mischievous and unfortunate, insisting that under no circumstances did government send a directive to the airline canceling their relationship with them.
‘INSIDE STORY’‘Lufthansa had an outstanding relationship with the then Ghana Airways which allowed them five additional flights from Ghana to Germany, outside their already established two flights from the country.
The arrangement was to give Lufthansa more visibility in the country as well as to afford Ghana Airways some royalties.
When the royalties were not forthcoming, Ghana Airways took the issue up after which Lufthansa agreed to pay an amount of $1.2 million dollars to settle the issue.
Lufthansa, apparently, did not take kindly to a new arrangement by the Official Liquidator of Ghana Airways, allowing Ghana International Airlines to fly to Frankfurt and giving Lufthansa only two flights to Ghana.
They therefore wrote a letter to the Official Liquidator asking them to cancel GIA’s flights to Germany and allow them that privilege’.
Honorable Gloria Akuffo said the airline cannot use this mechanism to serve as a threat to the Aviation Ministry to cow in to their demands.Meanwhile, Travel and Tour Agencies in the country say they have still not received any official notification from Lufthansa concerning their decision to cancel their flights to Ghana.
They maintain that they are currently having problems with their clients since some of them have booked on the airline.
Mr. Johnny Nezer Moreau of Graceland Travel and Tours and former President of the Ghana Travel and Tour Agencies said the move by Lufthansa will surely tarnish the image of the airline in the country.
Lufthansa ends route to Ghana after disagreement with government Deutsche Lufthansa AG said it will stop flying to Ghana, following a disagreement with the Ghanaian authorities.
Lufthansa said the Ghanaian government had refused to renew the licence authorising it to fly every day to Accra international airport.
'Instead, Lufthansa was only authorised to fly two flights per week between Accra and Frankfurt. Unfortunately, the company cannot accept this proposal, as it is not financially viable,' the airline said.
Lufthansa's last flight serving Accra will run on Saturday evening. The company said it 'sincerely regrets being forced to withdraw Ghana from the map of countries which we serve'.
Ghanaian Aviation Minister Gloria Akuffo said Lufthansa could still fly to the country. She told Agence France-Presse that her government had not forced the airline to halt its flights, and that Lufthansa had sent her ministry draft agreements to be signed.
Source:CitiFM

Two Nigerians arrested with fake new Ghana cedi notes

Two Nigerians were arrested on Saturday by Customs officials at the Aflao border for possessing fake new Ghana cedi notes.
The watermark and the silver lining, the two main security features of the new Ghana Cedi note, were not on the notes found on them. The suspects - Michael Akinniyi Adetayo, 35, and 36 year-old Sunday Olaole Ogundeyi, have since been handed over to the Aflao police for further investigation.

Mr Ahmed Issah Yakubu, Assistant Superintendent of Police in charge of Aflao district, told the Ghana News Agency that the two Nigerians arrived at the last departure checkpoint at about 0630 hours on Saturday.
He said Customs officers, who had been on the alert for fake notes, examined the two thoroughly and found the fake currency in GH(1 and GH(10 denominations.
Mr Yakubu said the two claimed the notes were given to them when they went to exchange Naira into cedis while on their way to shop in Accra.

The Police have impounded their luggage.
Mr Yakubu said the two would be put before court on Tuesday for conspiracy and possessing fake notes.
Source:GNA

Uneasy calm at Kotoka Airport

(The Heritage) -- Imminent danger looms at the nation’s premier airport, the Kotoka International Airport, and while the management claims to be working feverishly to avert any calamitous incident like loss of life or property, safety and communications personnel have maintained that, it has reached a dead-end.However aviation experts familiar with the situation have urged the Aviation Ministry to redouble efforts and prevent the looming aviation crisis.

'These people handle all the communications, navigation and surveillance equipment on the ground (including the radar) that makes it possible for the controller to communicate with the pilot; some of them license all the aircraft and check their airworthiness, so the mere fact that they are disenchanted with their condition of service makes the situation a very scary one," a management member unhappy with what is going on told the paper.Months of investigations have revealed a tensed moment at the Kotoka International Airport with a simmering disaffection among the safety, communications, navigation and surveillance officers over payment of what is described as the Extra Duty Allowance (EDA).

The disaffected officials and some of their backers within the divided management of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) have told the Heritage that, they are prepared for any action including the one that could lead to the eventual closure of the KIA, saying 'we cannot hold the fire anymore.'"The Ghana Air Traffic Safety Electronics Association (GHATSEA) and Ghana Aeronautical Information Services Association (GHAISA) jointly wish to ... press home our demand for the unconditional resolution of the pending grievances, namely poor salary and allowance disparities, among others.

"Much as we appreciate the strategic role our services play in flight control and operations, we would hereby wish to state that we have reached our wits end and cannot continue to be dragged from one fruitless meeting with GCAA Management to another."It has become clear to us that either they are unwilling or incapable of solving the problem. It is difficult to understand how Management could admit that they have made a mistake by leaving us out in the first place and then turn round to plead for time. The plain truth is that, they have no clue as to how to solve the problem."In short, our position currently is borne out of imminent break-down of worker-management relationship coupled with the lackadaisical approach of management towards the resolution of our genuine grievances.

"In as much as it is your desire to see that peace and harmony always prevail at the three major sectors under your ministry, as you have rightly stated during our first official meeting with you at your office on May, 24, 2007, being our 'mother' we wish to appeal to you to use your good offices to personally take appropriate measures to intervene to save the situation," a memo to the Minister of Aviation by the aggrieved GCAA personnel and dated 12 July, 2007 stated.Prior to this memo and the sudden burst of agitation, there had been almost seven months of negotiations between the said personnel and the management of the GCAA.These serious negotiations and anxiety began just after the de-coupling of the GCAA on the 1st of January 2007.GCAA currently is made up of the Air Traffic Controllers (ATC), the Air Traffic Safety Electronics Personnel (ATSEP) and the Aeronautical Information Services (AIS) on one hand and the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) on the other.The ATC, the ATSEP and the AIS form the core sections of the GCAA covering the Communications, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) or the Air Traffic Management (ATM).The ATSEP, the AIS together with some personnel at the Safety Regulations are grumbling over the preferential treatment of the ATC in terms of conditions of service, particularly, the EDA.“The Heritage has learnt that, those aggrieved allied workers were promised that the situation would be addressed after the January de-coupling of the GCAA, but alas, that was not the case.”Instead, conditions of service of the ATC have kept on improving day-by-day to the chagrin of other staff, provoking the recent tense situation. Not even the intervention of Madam Gloria Akufo, the Aviation Minister could resolve the situation.Some personnel of the ATSEP and the AIS have started wearing red attire as indication of their preparedness to embark upon an industrial action that observers believe would have a telling effect on the nation's aviation system.An aviation expert who spoke to the Heritage on condition of anonymity said, the last time the nation reached an edgy situation like this was in the late 70s, during the reign of General Kutu Acheampong and sounded a warning that, properties and lives of passengers are at stake if the current impasse is not resolved to the satisfaction of all the parties.Additionally, the expert explained that, the likely scenario would be the closure of the Kotoka International Airport and other major airports within Ghana's Flight Information Region (FIR).According to him, apart from the KIA, Ghana's FIR covers major airports including that of Lome and Cotonou and any crisis that would arise would affect both Benin and Togo.However, in an interaction with the management of the GCAA last Friday at the KIA tower, Mr. Eric T. Noi, the Corporate and Communications Manager said, negations are ongoing to resolve the situation and that, it is an issue of impatience from the aggrieved parties.He said, while the management does not expect the occurrence of any mishap, contingency arrangement has been made to contain any situation, including industrial action.
Source:The Heritage

No shut down of Akosombo dam, despite ...

The Volta River Authority (VRA) has dispelled media speculations that it will shut down its plants this week.The Director of Hydro at the VRA, Kirk Coffie, maintained that although the water level in the Akosombo dam was still critically low, it did not yet warrant a shutdown."We are presently running two out of the six turbines and although we wish we could run more, the water level at 235.16 feet, as of Friday, cannot support the extra four," he said.Since August last year, the country's major source of electrical power has suffered a severe set back as a result of the drastic drop in the water level of the dam, the main source of hydro power for the country.

Mr Coffie said the authority had had to rely heavily on the importation of crude oil to power the thermal plants at Aboadze, the cost of which was becoming increasingly unbearable.The situation has forced the VRA to reduce the power supplied to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG),hence the nation wide power rationing exercise to avert a total collapse.The government, on its part, is putting in place short-term measures, including the installation of power generating plants in Tema and Kumasi, to generate more than 500 megawatts of energy to make up for the shortfall of about 400 megawatts.

Mr Coffie said Ghana was not suffering from drought, adding that "once we are in the rainy season, there is much hope that the rains will come for the level of water in the dam to rise".Until last Friday, reports indicated that the water level had been reducing at an average of about 0.2 feet daily.When asked what the outcome would be in the event of no rains in the northern part of the country this week, Mr Coffie responded, "We pray it will not happen.
Source:Daily Graphic

French President to visit Ghana

French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrives in Ghana on Thursday, July 26, 2007 for a two-day official visit. This would be his second outing to Africa since assuming office as President in May this year.

A press release signed by Mr. Andrew Awuni, Press Secretary to President John Agyekum Kufuor, said Mr. Sarkozy would hold discussions with President Kufuor on issues bordering on peace and stability in the sub-region.The two leaders would additionally, review the bilateral relations between Ghana and France.Mr. Sarkozy would also visit Senegal and South Africa.