Vice President calls on African leaders to avoid bureaucracy that hinder businesses

The Vice President, Mr. John Dramani Mahama has called on African leaders to simplify bureaucratic procedures that hinder the setting up of business in the West African Sub-region and make available across board incentives to all investment in all sectors of the economies.

He said it was in pursuit of opening of its frontiers and attract huge investment that Ghana had over the years offered potential investors from across the world a wide and unique range of attractions.

The Vice-President made the call when he addressed the Gulf-Africa Investment Forum 2010 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

The two-day forum, on the theme “Fostering Economic Relations, was to strengthen and deepen the trade and investment ties between African countries and member countries of the Gulf cooperation Council (GCC).

He said the government had been marketing the country as an attractive investment destination, based on its comparative advantages and strength, which included a stable political environment for over two decades, vigorous pursuit of sound economic policies and a conducive investment climate under pinned by an accommodating investment laws.

He said Ghana abounded in diverse minerals resources including gold, diamond, manganese, bauxite, iron ore .

“We also have a wide range of fine tropical hardwoods. Ghana’s climate and rainfall provide fertile soil for a wide variety of agricultural products, while fishing resources are abundant, ”He said.

Mr Mahama said additionally, Ghana was a member of the ECOWAS and offered investors ready access to a regional market of some of some 300 million consumers, as well as to European markets.

Further, he stressed that Ghana had a highly trained and disciplined labour force with a low level of crime rate adding that “ Ghanaian people are renowned for their hospitality.”

The Vice-President said, currently Ghana was 10 among the largest producers of Gold in the world, exporting some 80 tons of gold a year.

He announced that , currently, a new Gold refinery was under construction at the international airport in Accra to boost refined bullion exports.

Mr Mahama mentioned the transport, health, tourist the road sectors among other areas for investment in the country.

He said Ghana had recently assumed the status of an oil production nation stressing that the production of oil in commercial quantities was expected to officially commence on December 15, this year.

Oil production is another sector of Ghana’s economy in which we could benefit from the long years of expertise of our friends in the Gulf region, as we seek to develop that area to finance our development” he said.

The Vice President re affirmed the government’s full confidence in the private sector as an indispensable ally in the efforts to develop its economies and therefore, called on the private oil firms in the Gulf region to consider investment in Ghana and the sub-region as a whole.

‘’I also call on the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the West African countries and those in the Gulf to initiate trade and investment promotion missions between their organisations, to establish business contacts among their members, and give practical expression and momentum to the growth of trade and investment between West Africa and Gulf countries,’’he said.

Mr Mahama used the occasion to congratulate the State of Qatar on winning the right to host the 2022 World Cup and recalled the feat chalked up by the Ghana black star in the last World Cup hosted by South Africa.

The President of Senegal, Mr Abdul Wade said the peace transition gone through by Ghana and Senegal should serve as a lesson of real democracy that could inspire a lot of African countries and the world at large.

The chairman of the Council of Saudi Chambers Sheikh Saleh Kamil expressed the hope that the the forum would bear a positive fruits in terms of exposing the Gulf Countries to the sub-region.

The chairman of the Gulf Research Centre, Dr Abdulaziz Sager, said the forum would discuss telecommunications and infrastructure , agriculture, Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources.





Story: Irene Ata-Donto
4/12/10

Ghana To Receive Cotton Seeds From Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso is to supply Ghana with graded cotton seeds from the next cotton season to support the government’s Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) project.

Ghana's Vice-President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, made this known to journalists when he joined other Heads of State and Government in celebrating the 50th anniversary of the independence of Burkina Faso.

The celebration was held on the theme, “50 years of construction of a nation: Souvenirs and hope”, in Bobo Dioulasso, the second largest city in that country, last Saturday and was attended by African leaders, including the Presidents of Rwanda, Togo, Mauritania, Liberia, Congo Brazzaville, Benin, Senegal, Mali, Chad, Gabon, Ethiopia and Equatorial Guinea.

They joined the Burkinabe President, Blaise Compaore, at a colourful parade of the security services, quasi-state organisations, civil society groups, non-governmental organisations and schoolchildren to climax the celebration.

Mr Mahama said Ghana and its neighbouring countries, particularly Burkina Faso, had established trade ties dating back to the era of independence, saying, “We are doing everything to enhance these relations.”

He said one major thing the country was looking forward to was using the idea of SADA to open the northern part of Ghana as a gateway to the southern Sahel region.

He said the country had trading activities with Niger and Burkina Faso, during which commodities such as maize, timber, salt, among others, were exchanged.

Mr Mahama said the government had, since last year, begun a cotton support programme to make cotton a major poverty eradication produce in the country.

He acknowledged that Burkina Faso was a major exporter of cotton, underscoring the fact that the produce was a contributor to the economy of that country and said, Ghana was making efforts to increase its cotton production in the next five years to 100,000 metric tonnes to rake in $400 million for farmers.

He commended Burkina Faso for the progress made in its elections which enabled Mr Compaore to serve a second term in office.

The celebration came alive when more than 5,000 people lined the streets of the Boulevard de la Revolution, where the ceremony took place, singing the Burkina national anthem, while 20 white doves were released to symbolise peace.

In his address, President Compaore said the 50th anniversary was a unique opportunity for the country and its people to take stock of their socio-political and economic development over the last five decades.

He said the Jubilee was a moment to commemorate the triumph of the spirit of the people of Burkina Faso and indicated his government’s intention to pay homage to its sons and daughters who fought for the reconstruction of the land and the emancipation of the people.





Story: Irene Ata-Donto
11/12/10

Government will not repeat mistakes experienced in gold and bauxite areas - Veep

The Vice President, John Dramani Mahama has stated that government was working hard to avoid the repetition of mistakes experienced in the gold and bauxite mining areas in the oil exploitation.

As a result, he reiterated that government would spend 10 percent of the oil revenue on the western region to enable them execute development projects that would lift them out of deterioration and abject poverty.

Vice President Mahama was addressing a cross-section of Ghanaians in a reception held in his honour as part of his four-day visit to Saudi Arabia to attend the Gulf-Africa Investment conference in Riyadh.

The gold, diamond, bauxite and manganese mining areas of Ghana had in the past been plagued with both environmental pollution and abject poverty due mainly to the wanton destruction and exploitation of the minerals to the neglect of dwellers, leaving some those areas as the most impoverished in the country.

The Vice President who was defending his decision said although the western region was part of the country and was therefore entitled to the oil revenue, its role as the custodians of the resource was adequate enough to qualify them for something out of the ordinary

“The Western Chiefs have a point, we need to create a development vehicle for the area as we used cocoa resource to collateralize the Bui Dam Project, I have not retracted my earlier position on allocating 10 per cent of the oil revenue for the development of the area.”

He said considering the huge infrastructural development that would emerge in the oil field as a result of the oil find, it was just plausible to suggest a percentage for the area to meet the whooping development needs of the area.

Mr Mahama, however, cautioned against the use of oil fund into pockets of some individuals or groups of people for their own parochial interest adding’ under the present circumstances the Western Region deserves more than 10 per cent since they are close to the field.’

On the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA), the Vice President announced that the board of SADA would be inaugurated by the close of this year to be followed by a donors conference.

''We want to create a new growth pole based on comparative advantage in the North. We want to stop the southwards drift through the creation of a new growth pole. Oil and gas will also create another growth pole in the West ,'' he stressed.

Commenting on the recent Holy Mission undertaken by the Ghanaian Muslims, Mr Mahama said the government would set up what he described as a 'proper secretariat to capture the data of Muslims who intended to embark on the holy journey next year.

" Next year we will make sure we have a smooth and hitch-free hajj next year,'" he stressed.
On education, he said the government had awarded scholarships to some students on science and technology while the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) had trained more than 200 students who were Petro-chemicals bias.

He said in line with government's policy to boost science education, all science resource centres in the country would be rehabilitated whist new ones would also be established with new equipment.

Mr Mahama reiterated Ghana's commitment to make agriculture the pillar of the country's development agenda and announced that the government would rehabilitate all irrigation projects and build new ones to boost irrigation agricultural sector.

That, aside he said, new farm boreholes would be drilled in all farming communities adding that some had already been drilled at Savelugu in the Northern Region to support mango projects on a pilot base.

The Foreign Affairs Minister, Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni, announced that no Ghanaian Pilgrimage was arrested this year in connection with passport fraud because of the enhanced features of the biometric passport.

He gave the assurance to the Ghanaian community in the Gulf that they would soon extend the biometric facility to Kumasi and Sunyani in the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo regions respectively.





Story: Irene Ata-Donto
04/12/10

Veep arrives in Saudi Arabia

The Vice President Mr. John Dramani Mahama has arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to attend the Gulf Africa Investment forum slated forDecember 4-5, 2010.

The two –day Forum which is being held under the custodian of the two mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saudi, the Council of Saudi Chambers in partnership with the Gulf Research Centre is under the theme; "Gulf Africa Investment conference 2010-Fostering Economic Relations."

It will bring together key investment corporate bodies from the middle east region, leaders and personalities from government, business, academia to outline the issues and challenges confronting business decisions between Africa and the Gulf States with a focus on investment opportunities in telecommunications, infrastructural development, agriculture, trade, energy, minerals and other natural resources.

While here, the Vice President will commission Ghana's Consulate offices in Dubai and undertake whistle stops in Abu Dhabi and Qatar to promote and strengthen bilateral relations between the two Emirates.

In Qatar, the Vice President will discuss the formation of a Joint Committee on Sports and explore avenues to source assistance for food security in Ghana.

He will also remind them on their pledge to build a stadium for Ghana, following Ghana's lifting of the Under-20 World Cup in Egypt last year.

The Vice President is also slated for Egypt to open an Investment promotion forum organized by Egypt and Ghana Investment Promotion Centre on December 8.

Mr. Mahama who is expected back on December 9, 2010 will use these occasions to strengthen the relations between Ghana and the Gulf States.

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Story: Office of the Vice President
03/12/10

Veep directs utility companies to serve Ghanaians bette

Vice President John Mahama has directed the Utility companies to step up their performance in order to justify the recent upward tariff adjustments.

"Ghanaians are increasingly becoming disturbed about your services and there is a dire need for you to set up performance targets and standards coupled with better supervision in order to churn out better services to your customers."

The Vice President gave the directive when he held an emergency meeting with the utility companies to learn at first hand, their major challenges and how government could intervene to improve on the seemingly deteriorating services.

According to him, the current performance of the companies was below standards and highly unacceptable, considering the concerns raised during the recent tariff upward adjustments. He identified lack of communication between the companies and customers as one of the major challenges they needed to solve to pave way for understanding and cordial relationship.

Vice President Mahama categorically mentioned water and electricity providing companies for their failure to inform their customers in challenges they faced.

"Fortunately, there are a lot of radio and television stations in the country and yet the service providers often fail to announce to their customers, problems they are facing until the customers start making noise, which I personally think is not good enough

"The frequent water shortages in some parts of the cities and power outage are not good signs of development and you need to change your style to win the sympathy of your customers outside there," he stressed.

He said government was currently channeling a lot of resources into the utility companies and it would therefore be unfair for them to continue with "such attitudes towards the improvement of services".

The Vice President appealed to the service providers to strengthen their supervisory roles to ensure that all sectors were working effectively to meet their targets.

Managing Director of Electricity of Company of Ghana (ECG), Mr Cephas Gakpo, noted that since March this year, his outfit had spent a total of $430 million on projects towards the improvement of electricity supply.

He attributed the recent power outages in some parts of Accra to the high factory demand of the commodity, prompting the ECG to step up production to meet the supply deadline for Christmas.

Mr Martin Nijsse, Managing Director of Aqua Vitens Rand Limited said with the expansion of the Kpong Hydro Machines water supply would improve even to areas that hitherto were not getting supply.

Nii Okine Kotei of the Public Utility Regulatory Commission, Mr Charles Darko, Chief Executive officer of GRIDCO and Madam Alexandra Totoe of Volta River Authority also made some contributions

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Story: Irene Ata-Donto
30/11/10

Veep receives more relief items for flood victims

TWO development partners yesterday presented relief items and monies running into millions of dollars to the government for onward distribution to areas in the country that has been devastated by floods.

The items, which were donated by the Embassies of Japan and Brazil, included pieces of blankets, plastic sheets, portable Jerry cans, water purifiers, bags of maize and rice.

Also included was an 8million dollar support from Japan to purchase equipment to enhance the readiness of NADMO to respond effectively to disaster situations. They were: water pumps, generators, different kinds of trucks, forklifts, bulldozers, excavators, rescue boats, graders, and VHR radio.

Making the donation at the Castle, Osu, Mr. Keiichi Katakami, the Japanese envoy to Ghana said the procurement process for the equipment to support NADMO would commence soon.

He said the food assistance of GHC 3,200,000 from the Japanese counter-value fund was to procure 100,000 bags of maize for distribution to, especially women and children displaced by the floods in the various regions of the country.

Mr. Katakami said the food aid grant totalling 12 millon dollars was part of the supplementary budget adopted by that country's Parliament recently.On his part, Luis Fernando Serra, the Brazilian Ambassador said the 200,000 dollars worth of donation, which was presented through UNICEF, was a way of expressing the support of his country to Ghana in its time of need.

In her remarks, Dr. Iyabo Olusanmi, UNICEF Country Representative said the Brazilian assistance was aimed at alleviating the suffering that the floods had caused children and their families.

"Due to the quick action of both the Ghanaian and Brazilian governments, UNICEF has already been able to use these funds to ensure that 5,000 people had safe drinking water, that 50 families had hygiene kits, that 10 schools were able to continue to provide a safe place for children to learn..."

Respoding to the gestures, Vice-President Mahama expressed the government's appreciation for the support. He said distribution of relief items to victims of flood disasters had already begun in earnest.

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Story: Office of the Vice President
29/11/10

Govt. to launch major agric intervention next year

Government has announced a major agricultural intervention next year, to encourage the establishment of privately-owned small and large scale farms across the country, in a bid to ensure a food secure Ghana.

Under the initiative, dubbed ‘the bread basket concept,’ government will support farmers with appropriate farming technologies including improved seeds, fertilizers, subsidy on agricultural mechanized services, and irrigation systems.

At the first-ever National Farmers' Forum, which took place in Accra, the Vice-President John Mahama, disclosed that after the implementation of the intervention, people would be proud to be called farmers, stressing, "the perception that farmers are poor must not be made to stand."

The forum, which was a prelude to the 26th National Farmers' Day, brought together award winners of this year's celebration, stakeholders in agribusiness and policy makers, to interact and generate ideas that will be incorporated into the sector ministry's programmes.

The Vice-President stressed that it was the intention of government to "recapture the days when farmers were part of the rich in society and were held in very high esteem."

He said farming should no longer be done on subsistence basis, adding, the "days of the hoes and cutlasses are over, we need to apply technology and modernise agriculure in order to improve productivity."

He said as a result of the sound policies pursued by the government, the agricultural sector had succeeded largely in bringing down inflation and stabilising other economic indicators. Mr. Mahama gave the assurance that government would continue to improve access to credit.

He noted that food was going to be the strategic commodity in the future instead of oil and gas since the known oil and gas resources were becoming depleted in the world. "We, therefore, need to produce enough to feed ourselves and export the excess."

Kwesi Ahwoi, Minister of Food and Agriculture said the forum would take the farmers through some aspects of lessons that they must know to improve their output.

He mentioned topics such as 'New trends in agricultural financing,' 'Farmer-based organisations in Agric. development: MOFA's experience,' ADB's special basket of services for the agriculture industry,' Effect of bush fires on agriculture in Ghana,' as some of the issues that would be discussed at the forum.

Mr. Stephen Kpordzih, Managing Director of the Agricultural Development Bank said ADB had positioned itself to lead in the design and implementation of collaboration and cooperation among key stakeholders in agriculture and development finance.

He said the essence was to improve on the entire value chain process, production, processing, and marketing of agriculture produce.

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Story: Irene Ata-Donto
29/11/10