By Dominick Andoh, Tamale Africa World Airlines (AWA), a domestic and regional carrier, has inaugurated a branch office in the northern regional capital, Tamale. The office, located opposite the Zugbeli Junior High School and within the environs of the Tamale West Hospital, is expected to facilitate the airline’s operations as well as enable it to tap into the growing airline market in the region. “We believe that we must first act locally. We intend to build an effective and strong partnership with the city of Tamale that will ensure a win-win situation for the city and Africa World Airlines. Tamale is ready for the next big thing and AWA will work with the City,” said Mr. Apiigy Afenu, Chief Operating Officer (COO). He indicated that the airline will be offering promotional fares that will be substantially lower than the standard rate to encourage more air travel to and from Tamale. “We will distinguish ourselves through efficient service to our customers in Tamale. We hope that our sales to and from Tamale will improve and then we will launch a second flight,” Mr. Afenu said.   The airline, which flies to Tamale at mid-day seven times a week, operates an Embraer ERJ 145LR aircraft that can seat 50 passengers, and is operated by two pilots with either one or two cabin crew. The aircraft is powered by two Rolls-Royce AE3007 engines and has a range of almost 3,000 kilometres, enough to fly non-stop from Accra to Dakar or Luanda. It is able to fly at a speed of 851 kilometres per hour and at a height of 37,000 feet. The airline is a joint venture between the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) Ghana, the Strategic African Securities, China-Africa Development Fund and Hainan Airlines of China. With an initial complement of two aircraft, the airline is set to combine domestic operations with flights to other West African cities including Lagos, Abuja, Ouagadougou, Abidjan, Port Harcourt, Dakar and Banjul. Mr. Afenu being assisted by other dignitaries to inaugurate the new office

By Juliet AGUIAR, Kokompe Mr. Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, the Member of Parliament for Takoradi, has suggested the provision fire service sub-stations at the various market centres and timber markets throughout the country. This, he said, will enable firemen to frequently organise training programmes for people in these centres on the need to prevent fire and ensure that their sheds and shops are always safe before they close from work. He bemoaned the rate at which fire outbreaks have become rampant in the country -- look at Takoradi Kokompe, for instance, it’s difficult to identify what caused the fire. The MP for Takoradi said this when he visited members of the Takoradi Kokompe Sawn Timber and Traders Association, whose wood and finished products were gutted by fire on Tuesday February 19, 2013 at 3 a.m. He urged them to put up proper structures so that their shops can be insured to ensure safety at all times: “I will assist you with 10 packets of roofing sheets”.  Mr. Joe Ghartey, the Member of Parliament for Essikado who was also present, promised five packets of roofing sheets. Mr. Abubakar Sadick, the Public Relations Officer for the Takoradi Sawn Timber and Traders Association, explained that fire gutted the area at 3a.m. on Tuesday -- in all 14 sheds have been affected. According to him, the cause of the fire is not known, investigations are still on-going and “the Ghana National Fire Service and the Metropolitan Chief Executive, Capt (rtd.) Anthony Cudjoe, have asked us to present a detailed report”. This, he noted, will enable the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), civil organisations and individuals to support those who have been affected.He also called for fire hydrants at Takoradi Kokompe.

By Dominick Andoh Many international airlines flying into the country have to make alternative arrangement to lift fuel from neighbouring countries-- Togo, Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria -- as a result of aviation fuel shortage in the country. Management of the Joint Users Hydrant Installation (JUHI) on Tuesday issued another statement in as many days to International Airlines’ informing them of the shortage and the need for them to make alternative arrangements. Domestic airlines, in the short-term, are covered by the current stock. “Somehow [with regard to shortage of aviation fuel] we are OK.  All the domestic operators are OK. It [the supply of fuel to domestic operators] will last for a while. With regard to the international airlines, we expect a ship to dock and then we can review that notam,” Mrs. Catherine Apeagyei, Aviation Operations Manager of Shell Ghana Limited, told the B&FT Some stakeholders have attributed the shortage of aviation fuel to challenges faced by Bulk Distribution Companies (BDC). The situation last Saturday led to the cancellation of many evening flights by all domestic airline operators, while some international airlines had to make alternative arrangements to lift fuel elsewhere. “The non-availability is just not good at all. We say we want to make Ghana an aviation hub when we don’t have fuel. It’s just a convergence of so many negative factors that is impacting the industry,” Mr. Apiigy Afenu, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Africa World Airline said. Works on the installation of new storage tanks for Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK) Supply at the Kotoka International Airport is nearing completion. The new ATK tanks have a capacity of 1,540,000 litres -- enough to last for one month. It is an improvement over the current storage capacity of 1,400,000 litres which can last for just two days. Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK), used in the aviation industry, is highly filtered to remove all impurities and is of a higher quality than the other fuels. The GACL is also undertaking the Kotoka International Airport rehabilitation Phase III project. The on-going project involves de-rubberising the runway to remove particles of rubber left on it as a result of the braking-friction on aircraft tyres, works on the apron, and installation of runway lights among others. The Ghana Civil Aviation Authority says it anticipates a 10 percent growth in the aviation sub-sector this year. The growth, it said, will be driven by an increase in the number of dedicated cargo-carriers and the number of passenger-carriers flying into the country.

By Juliet AGUIAR, Aboadze West Africa Pipeline Company (WAPCo) is expected to resume full operation by April 30. At the moment, the replacement of damages pipes and testing joints to ensure there are no leakages has been completed -- what is left is the Pipeline Integrity Gauge (PIG), “equipment used to push water and debris out of  the pipe” as well as using hot-air to dry the pipelines to transport gas. “It is not a simple process, there are variables involved and this is to ensure that when we resume there will not be any leakage,” Mrs. Harriet Wereko-Brobby, General Manager, Corporate Affairs of WAPCo, said in an interaction with the media at Aboadze in the Shama District of the Western Region. She pointed out that the pipelines should be safe in all areas that the company operates -- “We have been engaging with the Maritime Authority, fishing community among others, on the need to secure the pipelines. “We are now entering into agreement with the Navy in Benin and Togo to ensure that our pipelines are patrolled and protected -- this incident has interrupted our transportation of gas,” she said. She added that the company will continue to update the media on whether things are going on well as planned or if there have been some changes. The restoration of WAPCo’s natural-gas supply is expected to bring back the 200 megawatts of power lost through the shut-down of the Asogli Power Plant.

By Konrad Kodjo Djaisi The Trades Union Congress says the fiscal consolidation policy championed by government has entailed artificially holding down government spending, which has resulted in the accumulation of large arrears. It cites road arrears which increased from GH¢221.8million in 2010 to a projected GH¢311.8million at the end of 2011. Non-road arrears including arrears to the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETfund) and the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) increased from GH¢409.0million to GH¢1.1billion. “Such deliberate accumulation of arrears, just because government wants to achieve single-digit inflation, is not only harmful to the economy but also raises doubt about the validity of the inflation levels being reported,” the TUC said. The Union consequently advised government to abandon the inflation-targetting framework, since what the present economic conditions requires is a reasonably low and stable inflation (and not necessarily single-digit inflation). These concerns were captured in the TUC’s proposals to government as inputs to the 2013 budget statement to be read soon.  In it, the TUC state that the scale of the employment challenge is huge, and enumerated three important facts about employment in the country. First is the harmful impact of the so-called net employment freeze-policy in the public sector.  The second has to do with the inconsistency of the trade policy with national employment objectives, and the third is the continued casual and informal nature of most employment in the country. The TUC noted that employment in the private sector may be the ultimate solution to the employment challenge, but in the present situation the Union believes the private sector is too weak to be expected to provide employment in their right quantities and quality. “Government has to play a more direct role by continuing to offer employment in priority sectors of the economy. Ghana needs more teachers and health personnel, particularly in the rural areas. Employment can be created in these social sectors as well as in the water, sanitation and security sectors,” the Union stated. It said government has to reappraise its role in the private sector development initiative. This is because leaving the domestic private sector -- in its presents form -- to the vagaries of international competition hampers private sector growth and its ability to create decent jobs.

By Basiru ADAM The Plan of Development for the TEN project which includes the collective development of three hydrocarbon accumulations -- Tweneboa, Enyenra (formerly Owo) and Ntomme -- is under review at the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, and the outcome will be made public in due course, the Director of Petroleum at the ministry Dr. Paul Frimpong has said. In an interview with the B&FT, Dr. Frimpong said the review is done in “parallel” with the involvement of the Petroleum Commission and Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC). In its 2012 results released on Wednesday, February 13, 2013, Tullow Oil indicated that it had made good progress on the Development Plan for the TEN Project, which culminated in the Declaration of Commerciality and the Plan of Development (PoD) being submitted to the Minister of Energy in November 2012. It added that it had submitted a Plan of Development (PoD) to the Minister of Energy and that “approval of the PoD is expected in the near-future”. Tullow pegged the current estimated capital expenditure cost for the base development plant of the project, which includes around 23 injection and production wells and excludes FPSO lease costs, at around US$4.5billion. The three oil and gas fields -- Tweneboa, Enyenra and Ntomme -- are part of the Deepwater Tano licence located offshore Ghana. The fields lie in water depths of 1,000m to 2,000m. The development is located 25km away from the Tullow-operated Jubilee Field. It is the first deepwater field to be developed offshore Ghana. First production is expected in the first quarter of 2015 and a peak production rate of 100,000 barrels of oil per day is expected by 2018. The project is expected to recover approximately 216 million barrels of oil. The company said as at 31 December 2012 it had transferred 112 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) from contingent resources to commercial reserves in respect to the Tweneboa-Enyenra-Ntomme (TEN) development. The TEN appraisal programme started in January 2011 and continued in 2012 with the drilling of three wells. The Owo-1RA well was drilled and successfully tested in January 2012 at combined rates in excess of 20,000 bopd. Enyenra-4A was drilled in March 2012, intersecting 32 metres of oil-pay. Water injection tests on this down-dip well were carried out in April 2012, with results proving that the Enyenra channel sands are suitable for water injection to support oil production. The Ntomme-2A well was drilled in January 2012 and “found oil (the Ntomme discovery well) down-dip of the Tweneboa-3ST non-associated gas discovery”. The well was production-tested in May 2012 at combined flow rates in excess of 20,000 bopd, confirming excellent quality reservoir. Tullow said an FPSO design competition has been completed and that bids have been received from two contractors and are being evaluated. “A contract award will take place in early 2013, subject to PoD approval. The sub-sea FEED is now complete.” Tullow Oil is the operator of the Deepwater Tano licence and holds a 49.95 percent interest. Partners include Kosmos Energy (18 percent), Anadarko Petroleum (18 percent), Sabre (4.05 percent) and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC, 10 percent). Tullow has interests in two licences offshore Ghana: Deepwater Tano and West Cape Three Points, with the Jubilee Field straddling both licence areas.

  The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has asked government to revert to the Automatic Adjustment system in fuel pricing that makes way for periodic reviews and for effective planning. The Association said it has noted with concern the timing of the recent fuel price increment that is impacting seriously on business. “AGI is of the view that fuel price reviews must be made amenable to the Automatic Adjustment system that allows periodic price reviews, for effective planning.” For the first half of 2012, the cedi depreciated by about 20% while crude oil prices on the world market averaged an increase of about 8%. Fuel prices should have been reviewed accordingly, a release from the Association said. “We note the challenges associated with implementing the Automatic Adjustment System when such unexpected changes occur in the determinants of fuel price review -- namely the exchange rate and world crude oil price. We urge Government to develop a system to manage such challenges. In this regard, AGI recommends effective implementation of risk management strategies such as hedging to deal with such situations.”   Government, the AGI said, ought to make provisions in the National budget for the fuel subsidies for effective planning; and should submit a supplementary budget to cover any unplanned additional subsidies on account of significant changes in the price determinants. AGI is therefore calling on Government to:   Reinstitute the periodic review of fuel pricing to mitigate the huge impact of such fuel price increments. Budget for any fuel subsidy before it is absorbed. This should be part of the Budget Statement and Economic Policy presented by the Ministry of Finance. This will enable control and prudent financial management. Seek parliamentary approval, if it becomes necessary to exceed such budgetary allocations.   Fix the Tema Oil Refinery, as soon as possible to ensure the continuous supply of finished products including residual fuel oil to Industry, among others. In addition, we would be adding value to crude oil -- thereby generating industrial growth and saving forex.  

Coca-Cola Equatorial Africa has appointed Mrs. Ama Bawuah as its new Head of Public Affairs and Communications. Prior to joining the Coca-Cola Company, Ama was a UNDP Advisor on Aid and Funding Coordination to the Government of Ghana.  She was the founder and CEO of Mark 7 Consult, a boutique management-consulting firm in Accra.  Ama has worked in the past as Vice President for Citigroup Corporate Investment Bank’s Global Transaction Services in New York.  She was the West Africa Director for the Whitaker Group, a Washington DC-based management consulting firm.  She has also worked with Sun Trust Bank in Atlanta, Georgia, as Project Manager in their Product Development department. In her work with leading global corporates, Ama has consistently delivered and executed cutting-edge solutions for those multinational firms to reduce barriers to business and facilitate their operations in the region.    She has in the past engaged in the resolution of Government/Corporate Affairs issues in West Africa on behalf of US Fortune 500 companies in the Beverage, Agri-business, Consumer Goods and Engineering/Technology industries. A product of Wesley Girls High School, Ama is a graduate of the University of Ghana and holds an MBA from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

By Patrick PAINTSIL AP Oil and Gas Limited, an oil-marketing company, has in collaboration with the Wisewater Foundation, a private non-governmental organisation, donated whiteboards and markers worth GH¢1,000 to Mamprobi Sempe 5 Basic School in Accra. The whiteboards will replace the conventional chalkboard, which is said to cause eye-related problems to teachers and pupils. Mr. John Sanni-Thomas, AP Oil’s Head of Human Resource and Corporate Affairs, said the donation is the company’s way of giving back to society. He said the company realised the hazardous nature of the chalk-dust; hence the need to support replacement of the conventional blackboards with whiteboards. “Blackboards have been with us for many years, but notwithstanding the benefits, they have over the years proven to have adverse effects on the health and well-being of both teachers and students. “We believe this is the best way to help the community grow and also show our appreciation while empowering and impacting the lives of the less-privileged within,” he said. “As a corporate entity, it is our corporate social responsibility to give back to society part of what we have been blessed with,” Mr. Sanni-Thomas added. He charged the pupils to take their studies seriously so as to become responsible people in society.Mr. Emmanuel Amarquaye, Chairman of Wisewater Foundation, said the “Whiteboard Project” was born out of the need to eradicate harmful effects of chalk-dust to teachers and pupils when inhaled.  â€œThe Foundation believes that public schools ought to be community-owned, in that businesses operating within the community must assist in a form of corporate social responsibility. “The way forward to meeting some of the numerous challenges facing public schools is the adoption of business marketing models to raise funds, and this project is one of such,” he noted. Mr. John Sanni-Thomas, Head of Human Resource and Corporate Affairs for AP Oil, presenting the items to a teacher of Mamprobi Sempe 5 Basic School