Kpong Generating Station is, with an installed capacity of 160 megawatts, one of the important hydro-electric power generation sources in the country. Completed in 1982, the installation constitutes 12 percent of the country’s energy production. The Kpong head pond, according to the Volta River Authority (VRA), has minimal storage capacity and is therefore operated in tandem with Akosombo as a run-of-the-river plant to optimise water use from the Volta Lake. If all four units at Kpong are running,
The economic condition currently prevailing in Ghana poses a challenge to enterprise development, its sustainability and growth processes. Many enterprises including microfinance institutions will have to face realities and develop the needed approach in order to promote and sustain their operations. The effect of the economic challenges on micro and small enterprises (MSE) will include but are not limited to increasing need for additional working capital to manage the same size of businesses,
Agricultural scientists say it has become imperative for policymakers to uphold modern biotechnology with substantial research funding to empower it as a key rudiment to subdue the growing challenges confronting agricultural productivity in the country over the years. According to the scientists, agriculture faces serious challenges: such as dwindling labour forces, low productivity, climate change, finite resources, rapid population growth, energy crisis, problems of global trade and inequalities,
Customs officers of Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) at Tema port in collaboration with officials with Timber Industry Development Division (TIDD) of Forestry Commission have impounded all the 51 20-foot containers of rosewood believed to have been smuggled from Brong Ahafo and parts of the Northern Regions by Sidacom Woods Limited and meant for export to India. The face value is believed to be US$500,000. Mrs. Barbara Serwaa Asamoah, Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources led a team of security
The Executive Director of the Ghana Institute of Governance and Security -- a policy think-tank group -- David Agbee, has asked for the creation and adoption of an unassailable implementing strategy in managing the recently launched Youth Entrepreneurship Support fund as a measure of identifying and resourcing the right ideas and individuals with the capacity to generate employment for others. His statement follows a litany of commentary that has greeted the establishment of a specially-targetted
Export of pineapples to the European market has seen a steep decline from 71,000 metric tonnes in 2004 to 40,000 metric tonnes in 2013. The worrisome trend has reduced Ghana’s 10 percent share of the EU export market to only 3 percent, and also cut earnings from US$24 million to US$19.2 million within the same period, General Manager of the Sea-Freight Pineapple Exporters of Ghana (SPEG), Stephen Mintah, disclosed to the B&FT. The drop, according to him, is primarily due to the switch in demand
A Mauritian energy and manufacturing firm, Omnicane, is set to invest about US$250million in various sugar plantation projects in Savelugu in the Northern Region, following the conclusion of a test that proved the project’s commercial and production viability. The five-year project, which is planned to produce more than 100,000 tonnes of refined sugar annually, is expected to yield job prospects for residents in one of the most poverty-endemic areas in the country. The Northern Regional Minister,
The Bank of Ghana has moved to prevent microfinance companies in operation from changing their names to cover their tracks after failing to manage depositors’ funds prudently. The central bank said the move follows its observation that some of the companies change their names in an attempt to hide liquidity challenges and seek a fresh start. The Head of Other Financial Institutions Department of the Bank of Ghana, Raymond Amanfu, said the central bank took the decision to bar name-changes in
Farmers in the Northern Region of Ghana are reportedly reducing the sizes of their farms as incentives to engage in agricultural activities wane. At a forum organised and sponsored by STAR-Ghana it emerged that most of the farmers in the region are challenged by inadequate agricultural inputs, which has made it difficult for them to maintain and expand their farmlands. The forum, organised on the theme “Tackling Bottlenecks to the Development of Rural Agriculture in the Northern Region: Improving
Ghana is hopeful of accessing the first tranche of funds from the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s (MCC) latest grant by mid-2015. The agreement between Ghana and the United States to access the grant, worth US$498million under the second compact of the Millennium Challenge Account, was signed on August 5 this year. The funds will be used for improvement of power distribution in the country. Ms. Deidra Fair James, the Country Team Leader of the Millennium Challenge Account at the United States
The Bank of Ghana last Thursday unveiled a comprehensive roadmap document that it believes will lead to enhancement of existing payment systems in the country. The goal of the Strategic Payments Roadmap for Ghana, a paper commissioned by the central bank, is meant to build on the current payment systems infrastructure to reduce the dependence on cash for transactions. The paper put together by Standard Chartered Bank is divided into four segments: namely, Laying the Foundation; Making Use of What
Freight rates for clean tankers heading from the UK to West Africa could see an increase due to the Ebola crisis which is forcing shipowners to insert clauses into charter parties to avoid the risk of their vessel being quarantined, shipping sources told Platts. The inserted clauses relate to shipowners carrying clean products, stipulating that charterers will have to nominate alternative safe discharge ports and pay more for further travel should there be any risk of their vessel being quarantined
The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) has warned the general public to be wary of fraudsters who are in the business of collecting various sums of money from victims claiming to have cars at Tema Port for sale. A release issued by the Marketing and Corporate Affairs department of the Authority stated that a lot of people have been duped of monies ranging from GH¢1,000 to GH¢3,000. Marketing and Corporate Affairs Manager for Tema Port, Paul Ansah-Asare, speaking on the issue said a large
Marketing and Corporate Affairs Manager at the Tema Port, Mr. Paul Ansah-Asare says the outbreak of Ebola disease in neighbouring port countries -- including Nigeria and Liberia -- has not affected business activities because the vessels that call from those countries are cargo vessels with minimal foreign interaction. Speaking to the B&FT in an interview on measures being taken by the Authority in the wake of the Ebola outbreak in neighboring port countries that do business with Ghana’s ports,
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