Work on the interchange connecting the Accra-Cape Coast Highway to the ultra-modern retail shopping centre at Weija, West Hills Mall is ready to take off ahead of the opening of the mall later this year. Officials of the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) and Delico Property Development Ghana Limited (Delico), the project developer, announced this in Accra today. The disclosure was made at a stakeholder sensitization forum held at Weija in Accra West when a five-stage construction schedule designed to reduce traffic congestion in the area during construction was unveiled to residents and other stakeholders from adjoining communities along the highway. West Hills Mall is a 27, 000 square metre plus shopping centre – a joint venture owned by Delico Property Investments Ghana Limited with 60% shareholding and Social Security & National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), which has 40% ownership. The project has generated considerable public interest because of its sheer size, its location and the variety of innovative add-ons, many of which are new to retail shopping in West Africa. West Hills Mall has an extended parking bay with capacity for 1,400 cars. Located at Dunkonah in Western Accra just off the Accra-Kasoa-Cape Coast highway, the West Hills Mall development comes with a mix of local and international tenants and has two supermarket anchor tenants and some 65 line shops, a chain of restaurants and a five-screen cinema complex. Industry watchers have touted the new development as possibly the biggest retail shopping centre in West Africa on account of its massive rentable space. Among tenants already lined up for business at the West Hills Mall when it is completed later this year are Shoprite, Palace, Edgars, Mr. Price, Woolworth, Jet, MTN, Stanbic, Barcellos, Foods Inn, Basillia, Tante Marie, Bata Pierre Cardin, Lufian, Truworth and Identity. The developer, Delico, is a joint venture comprising Atterbury, a renowned South African Property Development and Investment Company and Nasek Limited, a Ghanaian Property Development and Investment company. The interchange, described as one of the most critical components of the West Hills Mall development, became necessary following stringent meticulous traffic impact assessment conducted respectively by the developer and the Ghana Highway Authority. From the onset, the developers declared their determination to guarantee the free, safe and uninterrupted flow of motor traffic across the Accra-Cape Coast Highway and provide safe access to the mall for shoppers, pedestrians, mall tenants and delivery vans, without interrupting the smooth flow of traffic on the main Highway. The interchange is being built in close collaboration with the Ghana Highway Authority which approved its design and standard specifications. The Project Manager, Mr. Yaw Safo Marfo Jnr. told stakeholders that the key component of the interchange is a bridge or a structure which will serve as an underpass from the highway to the Mall. He said this bridge will be constructed in five phases and to ensure that traffic flow is not unduly affected by the works, two diversions will be constructed with two lanes in both directions and motorists will be adequately and constantly guided by a set of signage, notices and alarms. Explaining the design, Mr. Safo Marfo Jnr. said the Interchange will have slipways which will enable motorist from Accra or Mallam to enter the service road for access to existing businesses and residential area to the North of the interchange while shoppers and visitors to the Mall may simply enter the slipway and continue through an underpass straight onto the Shopping mall's car parking area while other commuters may be dropped off by busses and taxis at designated Bus Bays. Shoppers from the cape coast approaching through the Kasoa end of the road will simply drive through the slipway and enter the shopping mall's parking area while delivery vehicles from that direction will use the Service Road located west of the Mall. Mr. Isaac Kyei Mensah, representing Delico property Development said the completion of the Mall will redefine the capital's business and recreational topography and open up the entire Western Accra to a new world of opportunities. Construction of the interchange will take eight to ten months to complete.

TAQA, an Abu Dhabi based energy company, has agreed with the government of Ghana to build an additional facility to generate 300 megawatts of power at the Takoradi Thermal plant.   Apart from that, the company is also willing to support Ghana in liquefied natural gas to undertake industrial activities.   This was the outcome of a meeting held between President John Dramani Mahama's delegation to Abu Dhabi and the management of TAQA Group of Companies at the Abu Dhabi Palace Hotel on Tuesday.   President John Mahama has been in the oil-rich country for the past three days and attended the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Renewable Energy conference and held discussions with other leaders.   TAQA has already constructed some projects at the Takoradi Thermal plant. Apart from completing power projects at Takoradi, the company is also expected to complete another facility at the plant that will generate 110 megawatts of energy at the plant by the end of 2014.   The additional 300 megawatts would start soon after the completion of the current 110 megawatts under construction by the end of this year.   President Mahama stated that the completion of all those projects would make the precarious power situation in the country a thing of the past and pave way for Ghana to become a net exporter of power.   According to him, Ghana's target of generating 5,000 megawatts of power by 2016 was on course and that it would be achieved with the active involvement and partnership with the private sector.   "What we really need now is the liquefied natural gas in addition to what we have to streamline our supply and consumption in the country," President Mahama said. The Group has also said with the additional 300 megawatts of power and the liquefied natural gas, it would also enhance the supply of electricity and potable water to the Western and Central regions.   TAQA also expressed interest to invest in other sectors in Accra and later expand such investments to other parts of the country and promised to come to Ghana to finalize talks and negotiations on such investments.   Emmanuel Kofi Buah, Minister for Energy and Petroleum, said his Ministry would pursue some of the good practices he learnt from the renewable energy conference to be implemented in Ghana as soon as possible.

  By Ekow Essabra-MENSAH The European Commission (EC) is optimistic it will reach an agreement in the coming weeks with ECOWAS on the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), the European Union’s controversial trade and investment treaty whose negotiation has been dogged by differences over some of its most crucial aspects. The EU intends the EPA to replace its long-running preferential trade arrangements with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) nations, which are not compliant with World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules. “We are optimistic an agreement will be reached in the coming weeks. Good progress has been made though there are still some challenges,” Dr. Nicholas Westcott, Managing Director for Africa, European External Action Service (EEAS) at the EC and a former Ambassador of the UK to Ghana, told journalists in Accra prior to a meeting to officially invite President John Mahama to the fourth EU-Africa summit taking place in Brussels from April 2-3, 2014. The EU and ACP countries had until the end of 2007 to sign the EPA, failing which ACP states, including those in ECOWAS, were going to lose their tax-free export access to the EU market. While many Caribbean states have ratified the EPA, the negotiations between the EU and ECOWAS have been held back by differences over issues such as how much of ECOWAS’ market should be liberalised, and the so-called Most Favoured Nation (MFN) clause -- which requires ECOWAS states to extend to the EU any more favourable treatment they may grant to third-parties in a future trade agreement. To avoid losing their generous access to the EU market, Ghana, Côte D’Ivoire, and a few other countries signed an interim EPA as they waited for their respective regional blocs to iron-out differences with the EU. But the European Commission warned as early as 2012 that it will change its market access regulation -- which had allowed countries like Ghana which ratified an interim EPA to continue exporting to the EU quota-free and duty-free -- and remove preferential access for countries that fail to ratify the EPA by the end of 2013. The EU is Ghana’s largest export market, accounting for more than half of all exports -- and loss of the current tax-free access regime will, at least initially, cause the country’s exporters to lose competitiveness in the EU market. If Ghana signs a full EPA, its exports to the European market will be 100 percent exempt from customs and other duties, while exports from the EU to Ghana will enjoy 80 percent exemption from similar duties and levies. But the deal has never excited civil society organisations in the country, who warn that signing the agreement will lock the country’s economy deeper into its primary commodity dependence-trap and derail regional integration. On a cost-benefit analysis basis, some critics have even argued that Ghana will be the loser. According to Osman Mensah, a research consultant, the country could lose about US$88.6million annually if it signs the EPA -- adding the agreement will erode government’s revenue from imports, with the country standing to lose US$1.12billion in import revenue by 2022.

  By Basiru ADAM Newly sworn-in president of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), James Asare-Adjei, has asked government to reassess its trade liberalisation policy which has led to the influx of all manner of cheap foreign goods into the country at the expense of local ones. “The Association of Ghana Industries recommends to government the introduction of countervailing measures to regulate such imports, while still promoting international trade,” Mr. Asare-Adjei said at his induction into office in Accra. “The government could adopt a targetted tax policy whereby imported raw materials, or products which already exist locally, are given discriminated tax levels. The AGI calls on the Tariff Advisory Board to be at the forefront of the situation,” he added. Various local industries in the country have been pushed to the margins by the influx of often cheap foreign goods. The local textiles industry is nearing collapse as its designs are pirated and printed cheaply in China and sold far cheaper in Ghana. The local furniture industry is equally reeling under the weight of imported furniture as major local manufacturers have been forced out of production, with some of them turning to imports. The latest industry under siege is the cement industry, as cheaper-selling Chinese cement has entered the market. “We think that if the government offers some level of protection to fragile industries, it is really going to help the economy. We must be able to grow so that we can compete with global giants. You cannot do that when you ‘over-open’, with the influx of almost everything into the economy,” Mr. Asare-Adjei told the B&FT. Government appears to be in a fix: on the one hand it wants to grow local industries, and on the other it is careful not to incur the wrath of those who regulate global trade mostly for the benefit of their giant industries. Haruna Iddrisu, Trade and Industry Minister, noted recently that Ghana is a liberalised economy and that government will not impose a ban on rice importation. On the issue of cement, the Minister told the B&FT last week that: “My attention has been drawn by the Tariff Advisory Board to the legitimate concern about cement being imported into Ghana cheaper than what is produced locally. We will be able to deal with it when we put the institutional structures and mechanism in place. Only yesterday, I asked the Tariff Advisory Board to give me an opinion as to what consequential action government can take on the matter.” Local manufacturers, who bear the brunt of the influx of cheap imports, have often argued that the rates at which they borrow are far higher than what their competitors from abroad get. They have also complained severally about the lack of access to credit, a situation that has pushed the AGI to consider setting up a bank to support small-scale businesses. “You will agree with me that if we are running interest rates between 30 percent and 35 percent, we cannot compete with businesses which are attracting interest rates of between 1 percent and 5 percent in other economies...Yes, we feel frustrated; the cost and availability of credit have been a big headache for us, and for that matter industries are not growing,” the new AGI president said.

By Benson AFFUL The Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), MillisonNarh, has urged shareholders of undercapitalised financial institutions to beef-up their capital levels to the regulatory minimum -- else they risk losing their operating licence. The BoG in December 2009 and July 2010 issued three notices to non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs), directing them to increase their minimum paid-up capital to GH¢7million by December 2012. According to Mr. Narh, as at the end of December 2013 some institutions had still not met the minimum capital requirement. Mr. Narh, who was speaking at the launch of Best Point Saving and Loans Company in Accra, said the maintenance of reasonable economic capital places a financial institution in a better position to assume more risk without having a significant impact on its capital base. “The size of loans that can be granted by an institution is limited by the size of its capital. And with the improvement in the economy, growing an institution’s capital will position it to undertake effective intermediation.” For this reason, he said the BoG has recently increased the paid-up capital of saving and loans companies to GH¢15million, and any entrant must meet the amount while existing institutions are required to assess their requirements in relation to their risk profile and move toward complying with the new regulatory minimum. Talking about the performance of NBFIs, he said the institutions have seen major improvements in their balance sheets over the past year.Total assets increased by 67.29 percent between August 2012 and August 2013, while total credit within the same period also increased by 62.67 percent. Paid-up capital also grew by 90.54 percent from GH¢252.21million to GH¢480.56million. Best Point Saving and Loans Best Point Savings and Loans Company (BPSL), a wholly-owned Ghanaian company, was incorporated in September 2012. The company is owned by Mr. Osei Kwame and Mr. Ernest Ofori Sarpong with 50 percent holdings each. The board chairman of BPSL, Mr. Ernest Ofori Sarpong, said the vision of the company is to be the most cost-effective and efficient savings and loans company providing cutting-edge financial solutions to small and medium enterprises and households. He said it will deliver unique financial solutions that optimise customer satisfaction and shareholder value through the use of state-of-the-art technology and well-motivated professional staff. He said it has been the dream of Mr. Osei Kwame and himself to set up a financial institution with a difference -- a difference in standard and in innovative products.Mr. Narh commended management of the company, saying it is not uncommon to see new companies such as BPSL having the determination and zeal to achieve their corporate objectives in their formative years. He said much as the company has the potential to realise its corporate objectives, it is imperative that serious attention be given to good corporate governance, internal control and risk management. He said adequate internal control measures, which are in consonance with the scale and nature of the operations of the company, must be adhered to at all times -- adding that such internal control must take into account clear arrangements for delegating authority and responsibility and clear reporting lines.

By Ekow Essabra-Mensah Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Seth Terkper is worried over a US$200million debt owed by local cocoa processing companies to Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod). “Some of these local cocoa processing companies have not lived up to expectation and are owing Cocobod over US$200million. “I am charging the governing board and management of Cocobod to ensure that these monies are retrieved as early as possible. The same applies to the Licenced Buying Companies that owe Cocobod huge sum of monies,” Terkper disclosed. Cocobod has over the years been supplying cocoa beans to local processing companies on credit at a discount of 20 percent, targetted at growing local businesses and creating employment. Mr. Terkper made this revelation at the inauguration of a new board of directors for Cocobod in Accra yesterday. The new board, he said, is coming into being at a time when the cocoa sector is facing a huge number of challenges -- which include falling cocoa prices. He explained that with the sustained hi-tech and Cocoa Disease and Pest Control programmes (CODAPEC) which have helped to raised national production, “you have to work closely with management to make the programmes more efficient and effective”. He indicated that Cocobod has been in the news in recent weeks concerning haulage trucks’ congestion at the points of Tema and Takoradi -- due apparently to concerns by cocoa carriers. This situation appears to be an annual national concern that must be resolved once and for all. “Iam told that management of the board has resolved the current crisis, but I would implore the new Board to work closely with management to ensure that all underlying issues to the problem are resolved with finality to put the issue to rest.”These are but a few of the challenges the new Board is being asked to provide policy guidelines and direction for management to address. Mr. Terkper explained that the Board is expected to work in consonance with management to be consistent with the Ghana Cocoa Board Act, PNDC Law 81; ensuring that the cocoa sector remains vibrant, resilient and competitive to continue to support the livelihood of millions of people. He said cocoa remains critical to the health of the Ghanaian economy and the livelihoods of millions of households across the country, adding that despite the oil find, the country cannot afford to abandon the production and marketing of a crop that has supported infrastructural development since independence. “In nominating you to serve on the Board, The President is confident that individually and collectively you possess the attributes that will bring harmony to the operations of the Cocobod.” Mr. Daniel Ohene Agyekum, Chairman of the board of directors of Cocobod, after the swearing-in ceremony said: “It is indeed with much pleasure that we accept this national call to duty to serve on the Cocobod, an institution that epitomises the entrepreneurial abilities of our rural farmers to individually and as families organise the cultivation of one crop the has changed the economic fortunes of our country for over a century. Mr. Agyekum added: “There is absolutely no doubt that cocoa is critical to the livelihood of our people. Millions of Ghanaians have benefited from the hard work of our farmers. It is time for us to make some contributions to the sustenance of the cocoa sector. “We should not allow pest and diseases, low soil fertility, lack of appropriate planning materials, smuggling and illegal surface mining, among others, to deprive this country of an enterprise that still has the potential to address the issue of poverty -- particularly in our rural communities which deserve improved livelihood.”

Kirk Koffi   The Volta River Authority (VRA) says it plans to acquire land in the Western Region to use as an enclave where Independent Power Producers (IPP) will establish power plants to boost Ghana’s electricity generation. The initiative, the Authority reckons, will draw more IPPs into the energy sector to help the country meet its goal of installing 5,000 megawatts of electricity by 2016. The current national power-generation capacity is around 2,800 megawatts, of which IPPs -- mainly Sunon Asogli Power Ltd. and CENIT Energy Ltd., owned by SSNIT -- contribute 11 percent. IPPs sell their power to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) through off-taker agreements with the power distributor. Though a lot of them have expressed interest in investing in the power sector, the lack of incentives and a non-progressive tariff regime are some of the factors which have diluted their interest. But their investment is still critical if the country is to meet its growing energy demand, which requires that 200 megawatts be added to installed capacity each year. “We want to acquire lands to fasten the process of IPPs coming on stream. That will be our contribution to IPPs,” said Kirk Koffi, acting Chief Executive of the VRA, in an interview in Accra. “A lot of IPPs have expressed interest and signed public-private agreements with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), but we can’t see them starting anything to bridge the shortfall or the reserve margin we have,” he added. Improvement in the country’s utility tariffs regime with the expected full implementation of the automatic tariff adjustment formula that kicked off in January is vital to drawing power-sector investors. The adjustment formula’s main objective is to achieve full cost-recovery by the state-owned utility companies -- but that will also increase the tariffs paid to IPPs, which tend to be higher than that received by their public-sector counterparts. Sunon Asogli Power Ltd., a joint-venture between Ghanaian and Chinese investors, owns the biggest IPP investment in the power sector, the 200-megawatt Sunon Asogli power plant, which is powered by natural gas imported from Nigeria. The plant was built with support from the VRA, whose own combined generating capacity is 2,100 megawatts. On-going power projects involving IPPs and the VRA include the Takoradi 2 Thermal Power Project (T2) Expansion. The project, jointly owned by VRA and TAQA Energy of Abu Dhabi, seeks to expand the 220-megawatt T2 plant from a single cycle power plant to a combined cycle power plant -- that is, utilising the heat recovered from one engine as the heat source for another in order to enhance system efficiency. The project will increase the installed capacity of the plant by 110 megawatts and it is expected to be finished by 2015.Another IPP, Cenpower Generation Company Limited, is constructing a 340-megawatt plant at Kpone, near Tema. By Dominick Andoh

By Dominick Andoh The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) has set a March 2014 deadline for brokers, also known as licenced dealing members (LDMs), to meet the new GH¢1million minimum capital requirement. The raising of the requirement by ten-fold from GHȼ100,000 will boost trading on the exchange and improve liquidity, said GSE Managing Director Kofi Yamoah. There are about 21 brokers who do business on the market, of which the top-ten are responsible for 91 percent of trading.Stronger capital buffers will also help the brokers do business on regional exchanges when efforts to integrate West Africa’s capital markets are finalised. Exchanges in Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and the Bourse Regionale des Valeurs Mobilieres (BVRM) -- which features eight Francophone countries -- plan to harmonise trading rules and create a single platform for trading. The GSE was the best-performing bourse on the continent last year, returning 79 percent on average to investors -- who traded a total of 313 million shares, up from the 218 million traded in 2012. Total market capitalisation was GH¢61billion in 2013, with domestic market capitalisation accounting for GH¢12billion.

  Marketing Support Consultancy Ltd., a research company based in Achimota-Abofu in Accra, has donated a variety of clothing and a cash of GHS1,000 to the Country Side Children’s Welfare Home , an orphanage in Awutu Bawjiase in the Central Region. The items and the money were given to the children of the Orphanage for their upkeep. Mr. Seth Odiko, Country Manager of Marketing Support Consultancy who led the delegation, said that the donation was part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility. He stated that the company felt it is right to give back to society by supporting the needy. This is an activity the company has undertaken every year since its inception five years ago, and they intend to continue with these generous acts. Many orphanages and some mental hospitals in Ghana have benefitted from such support from Marketing Support Consultancy Ltd. Mr. and Mrs. Yeboah, founders (mother and father) of the home, expressed their appreciation and asked other corporate bodies to follow in the footsteps of Marketing Support Consultancy. They called for more support for the home. They also stated that they need support in the construction of a fence-wall to protect the children, the home and property from thieves who come and steal donated items and other belongings of the home. Country Side Children’s Welfare Home has a basic school on its premises, provides foster care, shelter, food, education and healthcare for 150 children.The children have either been abandoned or are orphans. Their ages range from one day old to 24 years. The home also caters for about 58 children who go back to their parents during school vacations.

 As Ghana struggles to train the needed manpower for its nascent oil and gas industry, new research has indicated that the problem is global, and could be the greatest barrier to the growth of the industry. Amid a positive outlook for the industry in 2014, senior oil and gas professionals have predicted that a deficit of skilled professionals will be the biggest barrier to the growth of their businesses in 2014, according to a research report released by the leading technical advisor to the sector, DNV GL. The industry’s dwindling pool of engineering talent has topped industry leaders’ list of professional concerns for a second year running; a trend that is driving up salaries to unprecedented levels in some areas. The median daily rate that respondents to DNV GL’s research admitted they are willing to pay individual contractors in technical areas with a particular expertise shortage is US$1,000. Challenging Climates: The outlook for the oil and gas industry in 2014 is an annual litmus test for industry sentiment in the year ahead. It has been produced with input from a survey of more than 430 oil and gas professionals and in-depth interviews with more than 20 industry executives. Key findings include: • The overall outlook for 2014 is confident among industry professionals: around nine in 10 (88%) are optimistic about the outlook for 2014• However, 47% of respondents consider skills shortages as the top barrier to growth. This issue also topped the list in 2013• Globally, the positions that will be hardest to fill within the oil and gas industry are project managers (38%), who are most in demand in Asia Pacific (42%) where many of the world’s largest projects are located. Also in demand globally are offshore-related engineers (e.g. marine, technical, operational, piping) (24%) and safety and risk engineers (16%))• Skills shortages are most acute in North America (59%) given the rapid growth of shale oil and gas production there and the changing nature of projects. Elisabeth Tørstad, CEO of DNV GL -- Oil & Gas, says: “The sector is increasingly moving into challenging environments which require deep technical expertise to provide solutions, yet many companies are faced with an ongoing skills shortage. This need is driving up salaries at a time when there is already pressure to reduce costs. While technology can go some way to plugging the gap, it can’t fully replace human intervention. “The industry needs to take a longer-term view of building professional skills, rather than putting the brakes on nurturing talent when the oil price weakens. While we cannot fully duplicate and replace the experience of retiring professionals in the sector, we can work smarter through structured approaches to managing industry knowledge and ensuring that the competence built is effectively transferred to younger generations. “A more diverse approach to recruitment would also help to address the issue. The skills it takes to manage the construction of a space shuttle or hospital are not necessarily so dissimilar to what’s needed to manage the construction of an oil platform. And while decisions for global projects are today made in a few hubs around the world, I’m confident that we will employ a more geographically diverse working model in a few years. We will have a talent squeeze if we seek to duplicate the people in the industry today, but not if we are able to utilise the wider talent pool available to us.”

President John Dramani Mahama on Monday morning joined other world leaders to participate in the Abu Dhabi sustainability week at a renewable energy conference. President Mahama, who was the Guest of Honour at the opening session of the conference, focused on Africa as the next frontier in water, environment and energy, and was joined by the leaders of Ethiopia, Senegal and Sierra Leone. Also in attendance were Hamdam bin Mohammed Al- Maktoum, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi; and Ghana's Energy and Petroleum Minister, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, among other dignitaries. The opening session focused on the rise of the United Arab Emirates in the areas of culture, construction, education, sustainable access to water and job-creation, and how those measures can be implemented in Africa to enhance the continent's socio-economic development. It is estimated that the world population will rise to 8 billion by 2030 -- and this would call for increases of 30 percent for potable water, 50 percent demand for energy and 50 percent demand for food. As a result, Africa is seen as the next growth pole in these commodities on account of its endowment in those natural resources, giving an indication that the world will focus on the continent for survival and growth. The conference will therefore give the UAE an opportunity to share its expertise and experience with developing African countries to take advantage and develop their resources. As the host of the international Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the UAE has been actively involved in encouraging the widespread adoption of renewable energy. The first sustainability conference held last year attracted 30,000 participants from 150 countries. The main agenda of the conference is to tackle the world's pressing issues in energy, water and environment, and accelerate the global adoption of renewable energy and sustainable development. It is also expected to address water challenges in the arid regions of the world. At the end of the three-day conference, participants will be expected to stimulate investment in water, energy and environment projects and to empower young generations and entrepreneurs. There are also exhibitions of various technologies and innovations on water, energy, environment, engineering and construction, and it is expected to feature issues that will provide solutions to challenges in water, environment and energy throughout the world. President Mahama is expected to attend the Zayed Future Energy Prize ceremony later on Monday evening. The Zayed future energy prize is another commitment from Abu Dhabi in the field of renewable energy and sustainability. The annual US$4million prize was created to honour the legacy of His Holiness Sheik Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, late founding father of the UAE, and to inspire the next generation of Global energy innovators to create solutions for the future. Source: GNA