Ghana have lined up friendly matches against Costa Rica and Honduras and will camp first in Europe and then in the USA before the 2014 World Cup. The Black Stars will begin camping for their third successive finals on May 25 in Rotterdam where the Black Stars are scheduled to play the Netherlands on May 31. The team will then [...]The post Ghana Lines up More Friedlies appeared first on The Ghanaian Times.

Ten Child Panel members have attended a day's training workshop organised by the Department of Social Welfare and the World Vision-Ghana at Effiduase in the Ashanti Region to equip them with skills required to mediate on matters affecting children. The workshop was also to enlighten them on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which places the child at the centre of issues affecting children and to equip them with skills for proper documentation of cases that are brought before them. Topics treated Topics treated at the workshop were definition of child, welfare principle, non-discrimination, right to name and nationality, right to education and well-being, parental duty and responsibility, and duties of panel members. The Ashanti Regional Director in charge of Child Rights, Protection and Promotion at the Department of Social Welfare, Mr Kofi Adu, advised the panel members to take the training seriously and practise what they had learnt. He said child development was crucial to the advancement of society and urged the panel members to work closely with the Social Welfare Department to promote development of children. Before the workshop, the panel members were  sworn in by the Sekyere East District Magistrate, Mr Jacob Amponsah, who charged them to work diligently to protect the right of the child at all times. The District Director of the Department of Social Welfare, Mr John Ofori Attram, said the inauguration of the panel conformed to Section 27 of the Children's Act 1998 (Act 560), which states, “There shall be established in each district such number of Child Panels as the district assembly may consider necessary”. Child delinquency He noted that child delinquency resulting from parental neglect was on the ascendency and expressed the hope that the inauguration of the panel would help ease the workload on the family tribunal. He called on the district assembly to support the panel members financially and provide them with the necessary logistics to perform their duties efficiently and effectively. He expressed gratitude to World Vision-Ghana, a child welfare organisation, for coming to their aid. The District Co-ordinating Director, Mr Michael Owusu Amoako, who read a speech on behalf of the District Chief Executive, Mr Adjei Mensah, observed that the nation's future depended largely on the development of children and entreated the panel members to broaden their knowledge in their various fields of operations to promote the welfare of children. Panel members The 10-member panel  comprises Mr James Atobra Boateng, the assembly’s Social Services subcommittee chairman; Mr Isaac Appau, Justice and Security subcommittee member; Mr John Ofori Attram, Secretary of the committee; Mr Richard Donkor, District Information Officer; and Nana Ohene Asiedu, a representative of the Effiduase Traditional Area. The rest are Nana Sefa Kanto, a representative of the Asokore Traditional Area; Madam Christiana Adjei, Women's representative; Inspector Regina Owusu, Ghana Police Service representative; Mr Asare Danso, community representative; and Farouk Mohammed, a teacher. Present at the ceremony were heads of departments and schoolchildren drawn from the various schools within the district.  

The student who posted nude pictures of his fiancée on Facebook in retaliation for being jilted by her wept uncontrollably at the Circuit Court in Accra last Wednesday, February 5, 2014. Henry Alibah pleaded guilty to the offence and wept as his lawyer implored the court to have mercy on him. His tears did not evoke any sentiments in the trial judge, who reminded him that emotions did not come to play in the law. That reminder, nonetheless, did not stop him from shedding more tears. He will be sentenced on February 18, 2014. Snippets of offence The accused person, who posted the nude pictures of his former fiancée on Facebook on November 25, 2013, added the caption: “Porn star, pay and f**k.” He then proceeded to attach his former fiancee’s mobile phone number to the uploaded picture for interested persons to call. He was first arraigned on January 22, 2014, and a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf by the court, presided over by Ms Ellen Vivian Amoah. Counsel for Alibah, Mr Gad Cobbinah, told the court at its sitting in Accra last Wednesday that his client had showed remorse and would, therefore, not repeat that act again. According to counsel, the accused person had apologised to the complainant, her family and the respective schools they both attended. Mr Cobbinah stated that his client was a first offender and, therefore, averted the court’s mind to the fact that the law allowed either the imposition of a fine or a bond to be of good behaviour as punishment for Alibah’s offence. The charge According to the prosecution, Alibah committed the offence at Mamprobi in Accra after his 10-minute ultimatum to the complainant to rescind her decision to leave him had lapsed. He has been charged with causing emotional, verbal or psychological abuse, contrary to Section 1 (b) (iv) and Section 3 (2) of the Domestic Violence Act 737/07. Facts of the case An Inspector of Police, Mr Kofi Atimbiri, told the court that the complainant was, for the past two years, the fiancee of the accused person. However, the complainant called off the relationship three months ago via a telephone call but her decision infuriated the accused person, who insisted the relationship be continued. According to the prosecution, Alibah had earlier called the complainant and warned her to return to him or have her naked pictures posted on Facebook. On November 25, 2013, the accused person again called the complainant on phone and gave her 10 minutes to change her mind or have her naked pictures uploaded on Facebook. He uploaded the pictures after the 10 minutes had lapsed and he had observed that the complainant was not prepared to return to him. The complainant’s friends saw her naked pictures on Facebook and quickly drew her attention to the issue. She later reported the matter to the police, resulting in the arrest of the accused person. Writer’s email: [email protected].  

Dukes Petroleum Company, with 34 trading outlets throughout the country, has presented a 42-inch flat screen television and its accessories to the science department of Swedru Senior High School (SWESCO). The donation was in response to a request by the science department of the school to help it improve the teaching and learning of science. Making the presentation, the General Manager of the company, Mr Bernard A. Havor, said it was part of the company’s corporate social responsibility to support institutions in its catchment areas. He noted that the donation also formed part of the 10th anniversary celebrations of the company which is slated for the latter part of this year. According to him, the television was also to enable the science club of the school to view science-based audio-visual tapes to enable the students to better appreciate and understand most of the things they were taught in class. He appealed to the authorities of the school to maintain the television to ensure that it benefited future generations. The headmistress of the school, Mrs Agnes Leticia Hawkson, who received the items, expressed gratitude to the company and said it was a very important teaching and learning aid for science and added that it would improve the performance of the students. She was hopeful that the gesture would further strengthen the bond between the company and the school and that the company would regularly aid the school. Also present at the ceremony was Mr John K. Afram, a director of the company.  

Djibouti's foreign minister, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, speaks to Frank Gardner about the issues facing the region.

  New and extraordinary measures taken to stabilise the cedi and rein-in rising inflation must be “reinforced” by government through tighter fiscal policies and accelerated efforts to broaden the country’s export base, said the Bank of Ghana (BoG) on Thursday. Speaking in Accra after an emergency meeting of the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to consider a swift response to the falling cedi and mounting inflation expectations, Governor Henry Kofi Wampah said government must do more to assist the monetary authorities correct the “weak fundamentals” driving price and exchange rate instability.   The MPC, he said, increased the policy rate from 16 percent to 18 percent -- the highest in four years -- to complement earlier steps, including new controls on foreign exchange transactions that the bank has taken to address emerging economic risks.   “[But] all these must be reinforced by ensuring that all the budgetary targets are strictly adhered to for fiscal consolidation,” Dr. Wampah said, adding: “the committee acknowledges the ongoing reforms to improve revenue mobilisation while containing expenditures. However, a lot more is required in rationalising the wage bill.”   Fiscal consolidation in 2013 was slow, he stated, with the projected budget deficit of 10.2 percent of GDP exceeding initial expectations of 9 percent. Finance Minister Seth Terkper has forecast a gap of 8.5 percent this year, but the Governor cautioned that unless government sticks to its fiscal programme, inflation -- which the BoG has targetted to stay within 7.5-11.5 percent by year-end -- could be higher at around 12 percent.Pressure on the cedi is also due to Ghana’s high import profile, the Governor said, agreeing with calls to change the structure of the economy.   “In the medium- to long-term, government must seek to broaden the tax base further, diversify and broaden the export base, reduce imports -- especially of consumption goods that have local substitutes -- and intensify efforts to block foreign exchange leakages such as transfer pricing.”   On Wednesday, the central bank announced new restrictions on the currency market in a bid to boost the cedi, which fell by 7.8 percent against the dollar in January. The measures outlawed foreign exchange loans by domestic banks to customers who do not earn their income in foreign currency, and said offshore currency dealings by resident companies are “strictly prohibited”.   The BoG also directed that export earnings be repatriated by exporters to their banks within 60 days of shipment, and furthered instructed banks to convert the funds to cedis within five working days. It added that banks can buy exporters’ dollars at no more than the average interbank foreign exchange rate plus 200 basis points.   Dr. Wampah defended the rules, saying they will promote transparency, streamline the market, limit leakage of foreign currency and address money-laundering concerns. More importantly, he said, the central bank wants to stress the cedi’s status as the sole legal tender.   In the past year the currency has lost more than a fifth of its value against the dollar, pushing up the price of almost everything: fuel at the pumps, cooking gas, frozen chicken, clothing, furniture, footwear and the wigs that women use for their hair.   Two years ago, when the cedi weakened by 17.5 percent, the government shielded consumers from much of the impact by subsidising petrol, electricity and water -- a decision that contributed to a record budget deficit worth 12 percent of GDP.   This year, however, subsidies have been cancelled, leaving consumers to bear the brunt of the currency’s misfortune. From 8.8 percent in December 2012, inflation picked up to 13.5 percent in December 2013 and the persistently weak cedi threatens to force it higher.   Petroleum products have become especially expensive given their double exposure to the vagaries of the international price of crude oil and the local currency’s exchange rate. Petrol and diesel prices are up 41 percent and 45 percent respectively from a year ago, while liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and kerosene have jumped by 112 percent and 169 percent in the same period.   The Bank of Ghana has traditionally aimed to keep inflation below 10 percent, but the removal of subsidies coupled with the impact of currency depreciation limits the bank’s ability to keep inflation within its comfort zone.     By Leslie Dwight MENSAH

The Speaker of Parliament, Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, has directed the Parliamentary Select Committee on Works and Housing to investigate the demolition of houses at Adjei Kojo, a suburb of Tema, by the Tema Development Corporation (TDC) and report its findings to the House for it to take a decision on the matter. He also directed that the Chairman of the Committee on Parliamentary, Constitutional and Legal Affairs, Mr Alban Bagbin; a former Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr E.T Mensah; and the Chairman of the Committee on Lands and Forestry, Mr Albert Abongo, who is also a former Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, be made part of the team. Mr Adjaho gave the directive after the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tema West, Ms Irene Naa Torshie Addo (NPP), had made a statement condemning the exercise carried out by the TDC. The statement drew comments from other members of the House, many of whom agreed with Ms Addo that the action by the TDC was irresponsible. Ms Addo said the action of the TDC must not be repeated anywhere in the country. She said it was unfortunate that at a time when the government was soliciting help from international organisations to build houses for workers, a government agency would demolish houses built by people struggling to eke out a living in these difficult times. Some MPs disagree Some MPs, notably Mr Sampson Ahi (NDC, Bodi) and David Tetteh Assumeng (NDC, Shai Osudoku), however, sought to suggest that the House was making a fuss over the issue. Mr Ahi said the residents of the area had sought legal redress at the courts and lost, a situation which gave the TDC the right to embark on the action. Mr Assumeng said a similar exercise had been carried out by the TDC elsewhere in 2006 but that had not generated any national debate and not being raised on the floor of the House and wondered what was special about the Adjei Kojo case. They were both stopped in their tracks by Mr Adjaho, who said Ms Addo, as a representative of the victims of the demolition, had every right to raise the issue on the floor of the House. He also advised Mr Ahi not to go into the legal merits of the case on the floor of the House. Mr Adjaho’s intervention prevented the issue from degenerating into partisanship. Ms Addo’s statement Ms Addo said there were steps that needed to be taken before any demolition exercise was carried out but the TDC failed to adhere to those regulations. The TDC, she said, needed to perform an asbestos abatement exercise, remove hazardous or regulated materials, obtain the necessary permits, submit the necessary notifications and disconnect utilities, among many others, but it failed to do all that. “Mr Speaker, there are many questions one needs to ask. How did the residents acquire the land? How did they build their houses and live there for seven to 10 years without being noticed by the TDC? Why were the structures not pulled down at the foundation stage? How did they connect electricity and water without permits? Should the conduct of the TDC and the TMA go unpunished when they have been collecting penalties and property rates from the so-called illegal residents? What reliefs were available to such residents, even if refugees from neighbouring countries are taken care of in this country?” she asked. Ms Addo said the effects of the demolition exercise at Adjei Kojo could not be quantified because it did not only displace people by making them look like refugees in their own country but also shattered the dreams and aspirations of their children. She said children and adults now slept in the open, a situation which made them vulnerable to the bites of mosquitoes, snakes and other insects. “We cannot also overlook the vices that could rear their heads, such as rape, theft and so on. Children are not able to go to school any longer. Food, shelter and water have now become a burden for a family which hitherto was able to fend for itself without support from anybody. The open defecation which is now the norm for the displaced citizens should be of great concern. This has its own attendant ailments and effects on the people,” she said. Ms Addo said the use of extreme force by the security operatives could lead to serious riots which might affect the peace and stability of the country. Contributions Contributing to the statement, Mr Assumeng, after he had been stopped by the Speaker from proceeding with the argument that the House was worrying itself unnecessarily over the demolition, said the matter needed to be referred to the leadership for action. The MP for Asawase, Alhaji Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka (NDC), said Parliament needed to look at the root cause of the problem and not deal with the symptoms. He said the House needed to ascertain who sold the land to the residents, who approved the building permits, why the officers who should have ensured that the buildings did not spring up in the area failed to discharge their duties and who connected water and electricity to the area. The allegation that property rates were collected from the people, among other things, he said, needed to be investigated. He also dwelt extensively on the frustration people went through to enquire about land at the Lands Commission and said that problem was partly responsible for the situation Ghana now found itself. Alhaji Muntaka said it was painful for people to toil for years to put up houses, only for state organisations to pull them down in a few minutes. He wondered why the TDC should look on while people put up structures on the land and then move in later to demolish them. He said any official of the TDC or any other organisation found to have given approval for the construction of the buildings or whose actions and inaction had led to the problem in Adjei Kojo needed to be punished. The MP for Sunyani West, Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah (NPP), said it was unfortunate that innocent people bore the brunt of the inaction of public servants. He said there were laws regulating development which district, municipal and metropolitan assemblies were under an obligation to enforce but had failed to enforce which resulted in such demolitions. He said the length of time used to process applications was one of the factors that made people develop their plots of land without the requisite documents. Mr Awuah urged the assemblies to work hand in hand with the traditional authorities to ensure that development was controlled. He also called for a “synchronisation” of the laws establishing the TMA and the TDC, “so that we have one agency controlling development, otherwise we will continue to have these problems”. The MP for Nadowli/Kaleo, Mr Alban Bagbin (NDC), said the law establishing the TMA and the TDC were “conflicting and needed to be looked at again”. He said over the years, Human Rights Watch had mentioned Ghana as a country which abused human rights by demolishing houses and added that the tag was a bad one for a country in which democracy thrived. “The time has come for us to take up this matter and deal with it once and for all,” he said. The MP for Bimbilla, Mr Dominic Nitiwul (NPP), asked, “If the area where the demolition occurred is an illegal settlement, why did the utility companies collect bills form the residents.” Adjei Kojo case The Adjei Kojo case, he said, needed not to be taken in isolation and added that such demolitions occurred all over the country on a regular basis. The Minority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu (NPP), said it appeared as if both parties (the TDC and the residents) were not being candid on the issue. He said the demolition was carried out in a cruel manner and wondered if the TDC could not have waited for the residents to retrieve their items before the exercise. He said it was sad that the Land Administration Project (LAP) which was instituted to deal with problems associated with land acquisition had failed to address the problems.  

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  The Atuabo Free Port project, aimed at providing support services to offshore oil and gas activities both in Ghana and in the wider West African sub-region, is set to begin in the second quarter of the year as parliament is expected to soon ratify the deal. Cabinet has already approved the US$650m project, which is expected to create some 1,500 jobs in its logistics supply bases, warehouses and fabrication yards, among other activities. The project is being wholly funded by Lonrho, a UK logistics company, but has 45% Ghanaian interest.The government is said to have negotiated for Ghanaian institutions like the Volta River Authority and SSNIT to participate in the project. The chairperson of the port will be nominated by the government of Ghana.As an equity shareholder in the project, the government is also expected to earn dividend and royalty payments. A memorandum of understanding was signed between Lonrho and the government of Ghana in August 2011 under the late President Atta Mills for the project. Lonrho has since spent some US$15m on feasibility and preparing the ground for take-off. In an interview with the B&FT, CEO of Lonrho Geoffrey White said financing for the project has already been secured; indeed, he said debt equity financing for the project was “oversubscribed” due to investor confidence in Ghana. No funding, guarantees or subsidies are required from the government of Ghana for the project, he said. The project offers Ghana a strategic opportunity to become a regional hub for support services in the West Africa sub-region, which is becoming increasingly important for oil and gas production, he added. La Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia and Sierra Leone have all seen increased exploratory activity in recent times. The Atuabo Free Port will include Logistics supply bases including warehouses, storage facilities and offices. It also includes a fabrication yard for sub-sea fabrication companies to build various components for the oil and gas field infrastructure, as well as rig and vessel repair facilities. According to Lonrho, “The new facility is uniquely located to capitalise on the growth in deepwater exploration in West Africa, with an expected increase of 300 offshore supply vessels in the region over the next five years”. The company adds that: “Atuabo Free Port provides an attractive location for Ghanaian companies to become involved in the wider West African oil and gas industry and not just the Ghanaian market.” Phase one development of the project, Lonrho said, calls for an investment of approximately US$600m to construct and equip the free port, which will include local content spending in excess of US$150m. “The project will stimulate training for Ghanaians to offer the necessary skills for the companies operating at the port,” the company said. By Basiru ADAM

[New Times]The Ghana Chamber of Commerce has invited over 40 entrepreneurs from Rwanda to a business meeting on February 20. The meeting seeks to widen trade cooperation between the two countries.

  Insurance companies are weighing their options including a legal action against government if the directive to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to do business with only wholly- or partially-owned state insurance companies is not reversed, B&FT has been told. Insurance companies are awaiting a response from government after expressing their dismay at a decision geared toward boosting the business fortunes of institutions partially- or wholly-owned by the state. Government’s silence on the matter is causing uneasiness among insurers. The president of the Ghana Insurers Association (GIA), Kwame-Gazo Agbenyadzie, has told the B&FT in an interview in Accra that the Board of the GIA -- the trade association of insurance and reinsurance companies -- will meet next week Tuesday to among other things consider what actions to take toward reversing the directive. He said the Association will go to court as a last resort to seek interpretation on the legality of the directive following passage of the Insurance Act 2006, which repealed PNDC law 227 and its provisions that required all government agencies, statutory bodies or corporations where the government owned more than 50 percent interest to be insured with SIC. Currently, there are 43 companies in both the life and non-life insurance sectors which are all competing in a market where insurance penetration is less than two percent. Mr. Agbenyadzie explained that the directive will adversely affect the financial performances of most private insurers that have huge business portfolio with some MDAs. He said attempts to create a monopolistic situation for a particular company should be resisted and condemned. According to the GIA the directive is anti-competitive as much as it is illegal, which sends a wrong signal to both local and foreign insurance markets -- while in some African markets they have started retaliatory actions against the government’s directive by reconsidering their business dealings and treaties with any Ghana government-established insurance/reinsurance firm. Already, private insurance companies in Cameroon have expressed their misgivings about the directive and resolved to avoid doing business with Ghana Re -- a state-owned reinsurer which has set up an office in that country. “There are retaliatory actions underway which are affecting other state companies in the insurance business, especially in the Cameroon market, and it is not going to stop there,” Mr. Agbenyadzie said. In December last year, the government in a letter signed by the Executive Secretary to the President, Dr. Raymond Atuguba, directed all MDAs to with immediate effect purchase or renew any insurance cover required in the course of government business solely from insurance companies wholly- or partially-owned by the state. The directive required any MDA that had cause to do business with a private insurance company to seek permission from the government. It is understood that the directive is intended to especially boost the business fortunes of SIC Insurance and SIC Life.     By Elliot Williams & Evans Boah-Mensah

  Ghana Manganese Company (GMC) Limited, Shipping Management and Transport (SMT) Limited, a Dutch shipping company, and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) have outdoored a new transshipment vessel -- “MV GDANSK” -- at Takoradi Port to facilitate export of manganese ore. The new transshipment vessel is an improvement to the current operations in terms of efficiency and quick turnaround of vessels’ operations in the midst of ongoing port expansion project development. Also, it is to maximise the use of available facilities until the completion of the new bulk berth under the expansion of the project. Jurgen Eigendal, Managing Director of GMC, at the unveiling of the vessel at Takoradi explained that the new transshipment vessel is a new innovative way of improving upon the sector. He said it is expected that the new transshipment vessel will increase export volumes, and increase revenue at the Port for GMC and the government of Ghana. Again, he said it is to enable GMC be in operation and able to go beyond the 2 million tonnes of manganese exported last year -- “We are expecting our tonnage to increase to between 55 and 60 million tonnes during this new transshipment. “We are here to officially start loading -- GMC is now exporting low-grade manganese and our biggest client is in China which is a long way, hence the need for this new transshipment vessel,” he said. Captain James Owusu Koranteng, Acting Director of the Takoradi Port, said the transshipment vessel marks the beginning of a new and improved transshipment mode to facilitate export of manganese ore. “This innovative project seeks to transship large volumes of manganese within the shortest possible time -- as a leader in the maritime industry, GPHA will strive to achieve maritime operational efficiency,” he said. Mr. Alfred Ekow Gyan, Deputy Western Regional Minister, pointed out that the region is endowed with rich resources which have value for money -- and one of such is the manganese ore. He noted that export of manganese over the years has made significant gains for the country’s economy in the area of bulk shipment through Takoradi Port. However, he said, in order to maximise bulk exports through the port, government is supportive of any specialised form of shipment innovation -- the pressing trade and economic demand of the ever-growing international market can no longer be sustained at a water depth that cannot meet bigger vessels requirements. “I am of the conviction that the new shipment project will therefore augment government’s efforts in encouraging trade and investment to help reduce the cycle of employment,” he added. He said government will therefore continue to increase an enabling environment to support the private sector for investment gains.     By Juliet DUGBARTEY, Takoradi