The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) is attributing the sharp depreciation of the Ghana cedi against major currencies to the illegal activities of foreigners in the retail sector. GUTA President, George Ofori, has cited this as one of the justifications in the renewed drive to flush out foreigners operating in the retail business, emphasizing their threat to the Ghanaian economy. - According to him, the high demand for the dollar to meet the huge imports non-Ghanaians involved in the retail trade results in scarcity, pushing the exchange rate higher.
“These foreigners come in as manufacturers’ representatives who are here to take commission on behalf of their manufact…
Ghana has the potential to catch up with Ivory Coast in cocoa production by 2015 if present interventions and support for farmers are sustained. This is according to Eric Asare Botwe of Olam Ghana, the third largest Licensed Buying Company in the internal cocoa marketing and a leading trading company operating in 20 products across the world. - He said the benefit of guaranteed prices for farmers and application of the high-tech fertilizers and other technologies should propel the country to scale-up production.
“Can you imagine that doing three years of high-tech, we’re already in one million [metric tonnes], if we do it like Cote D’Ivoire has been doing for so many yea…
Ghanaian social entrepreneur, Kwaku Kyei has been selected as a winner of the 2011 UNEP SEED Initiative Award. The Awards recognize inspiring social and environmental entrepreneurs whose businesses can help meet sustainable development challenges. - Kwaku has been using his holistic education from Valley View University and talents to contribute to Ghana’s green economy through his Recnowa Initiative www.recnowa.org which he co-founded with three young enterprising Ghanaians.
The project is contributing to the fight against the plastic waste menace in Ghana by up-cycling waste into high fashion goods whiles creating employment opportunities for street youth and unemployed artisans.
…
High levels of corruption are the conversation of the day in South Africa, a country respected on the African continent for her economic buoyancy and thriving democracy. One reason for corruption's higher profile has been the strong stance taken by Thuli Madonsela, the official Public Protector, who heads the country's ombudsman service. - Her record in pursuing corruption complaints since her appointment two years ago has taken the ruling ANC government by surprise and gained wide public acclaim.
However, David Lewis, Executive Director of Corruption Watch, a new anti-graft institution, has no confidence in the country’s success in fighting corruption, citing South Africa…
Ghana is looking at its capacity needs in meeting the implementation requirements of one of the key strategies in mitigating the adverse effects of climate change. A stakeholder workshop is holding in Kumasi in the Ashanti region of the country to assess opportunities and challenges for the country to tap into the future of the REDD+ mechanism. - Nearly 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions are as a result of deforestation and forest degradation, through agricultural expansion, infrastructure development, destructive logging and fires.
It is however estimated that 25% reduction in annual global deforestation rates could be achieved by 2015 if adequate financing is made available for resu…
The bamboo bikes factory in Kumasi, Ghana, is hoping to scale up production by 250 percent at the end of year. The Bamboo Bikes Limited began production of 750 bikes for a test run in Kumasi early this year to serve the transportation needs of healthcare workers, teachers, students and farmers in rural Ghana. - The company was established as the first large-scale bamboo bicycle production company in Africa, with a target to produce up to 20,000 affordable bikes a year. The factory currently employs 20 people.
It is an offshoot of investment-related projects under the Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI) at the Earth Institute at Columbia University.
Addressing a stakeholder forum in Kuma…
Ghana's emerging oil industry is creating, as anticipated, new economic opportunities. More vehicles are expected to be imported into the country, which reasonably means increased demand for petroleum products. This, perhaps, informs the growing investment in fuel retail stations. - The upstream oil industry is barely ten months old, but there is a proliferation of petroleum retail outlets and fuel service stations across the country.
Downstream market activities of supplying products, including bitumen and lubricants, have over the years been handled by the oil marketing companies.
The deregulation policy of the petroleum sector has however attracted indigenous entrepreneurs and …
Residents of Ohwim-Amanfrom near Kumasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana are protesting the siting and operations of a factory in the area. According to them, paper manufacturer, T &Y Company, is polluting their environment which exposes them to health risk and also destroying aquatic life. - The Chinese factory started operating in the community about two years ago. The company recycles plastic waste and produces toilet rolls and other plastic products.
Residents of Ohwim and Amanfrom, however, say locating the factory in a residential area is an affront to their dignity. They are not enthused about the environmental record of this company.
Some are reporting respiratory infections …
One of Ghana's finest disabled painters Joel Kwadwo Acheampong, will be staging his first solo exhibition of paintings at the Alliance Française in Kumasi this Thursday. Joel has no arms and can hardly do anything without being supported. - He paints with brush in his mouth and in 2008 received a Grand Medal Award from ex-President Kufuor as a role model for the physically disabled.
His Manager, Mark Gyedi Nyante said the national honour in visual arts has exposed Joel to the world and built his confidence to paint spectacular pieces.
Works on display will include African arts; village scenes, motifs like the Akan Adinkra woven into intellectual presentation and Joel will be on ha…
The Ghana Book Publishers Association (GBPA) is in discussions with interest groups to fashion out legislation to regulate the influx of low-standard books on the local market. The group is hoping to sanitize the industry and promote professionalism by striving to enhance the image of publishing, which practitioners expect will lead to increased awareness of the group's role in educational and national development. - According to Mr. Oppong Kwaku Amponsah of Adwinsa Publications, “the GBPA Council is developing a strong voice for the industry – one that cannot be ignored”, adding that a stakeholder’ conference will soon be held to address issues relating to the b…
A bamboo bikes initiative in Kumasi - Ghana's second largest cosmopolitan city - is scaling up the production of high-quality multi-purpose bicycles for the Ghanaian, European and US markets. Bamboo is the fastest growing canopy for re-greening of degraded lands. It also provides nutrition for humans and animals as well as helps improve air and water quality. - But in Ghana, a local bamboo bike industry is emerging to deliver a sustainable and affordable form of transportation that satisfies local needs and suitable for export. Compared to the production of traditional metal bicycles, bamboo bikes require less electricity and no hazardous chemicals.
Bernice Dapaah is Executive Direct…
Locally produced goods and services in Ghana will soon get international recognition as Made in Africa Investment Limited, a produce marketing company, concludes arrangements to enlist them on a website. The CEO of Made in Africa, Emmanuel Mbigbo said the website would be opened for the local manufacturers to boost their potentials for international trade. - The company is partnering the Association of Small Scale Industries (ASSI) to expand the benefit of ICT adaptation to informal business operators with export potentials.
Mr. Mbigbo said the Ashanti region was chosen as the company’s first point of call in Ghana because of the ingenuity of artisans and other smallscale manufactur…
University lecturers and other supporting staff of Ghana are planning a sit-down strike. The Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU) at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has served notice it is joining others in public universities to register their protest over salary arrears. - The Public Services Joint Standing Negotiating Committee concluded a 10 percent pay increase across-the-board for all public servants effective January 2010.
According to Luv FM, the committee agreed payment of the new salary levels will be effected in July while arrears will be paid in two tranches in August and September.
However, TEWU members in public universities say the…
- The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) will represent the voice of African farmers in discussions of world leaders attending the G8 Summit in the USA.
Food security and agricultural development will be at the top of the agenda as US President Barack Obama is set to announce a $3bn plan to boost food security and farm productivity in Africa.
Acting AGRA Chair, Strive T. Masiyiwa will address the Camp David Summit on Saturday with a strong call for global leaders to “scale up, speed up and invest up” when it comes to African agriculture.
AGRA is working with its partners to create breadbaskets in Africa through support to millions of smallholder farmers.…
- The Global Bamboo Products Company is working on a bamboo value chain in Ghana to create jobs and alternative sources of income for rural communities.
Working with out-growers and processors in the Ashanti, Eastern and Western regions, the initiative involves producing ecologically friendly and financially viable bamboo products for a green lifestyle.
From reforestation to production and marketing of substitutes for timber products, the approach relieves pressure on forests by inter-cropping bamboo plantations with food crops to prevent forest clearance for agricultural production.
The company has been engaged in bamboo development plantations for the past seven years, with a cur…
- A local initiative is contributing to a greener Ghanaian economy through the production and marketing of efficient biomass cooking stoves.
The stoves produced by Kumasi-based Man and Man Enterprise and its business partners is helping to relieve pressure on the country’s forests and reducing harmful smoke emissions.
The indiscriminate felling of trees for charcoal is a major factor contributing to forest depletion. Available statistics indicate that over 65 percent of Ghanaian urban households use charcoal for cooking and heating.
The conventional charcoal-fuelled stoves contribute to deforestation and cause harmful emissions and health problems.
The “Holy Cook…
- The roadmap to establish a technologically-advanced industrial estate for artisans at Suame Magazine in Kumasi has received the support of the Manhyia Palace.
The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei II has rooted for shared equity in project implementation on the proposed one thousand acre plot of land at Atwima Nwabiagya, 7 kilometers outside Kumasi.
Suame Magazine is a typical indigenous industrial cluster that has emerged to be the largest SME cluster and employment village in Ghana.
The cluster is estimated to have a working population of over 200,000 artisans and 12,000 enterprises – made up of auto repair shops, spare part shops, scrap dealers, metal fabricators, manufacturers of…
- The Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana (POTAG) is on red alert to resist further delays in their migration unto the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS).
Members at the Kumasi Polytechnic have decried the slow pace of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) in their migration, saying they have met all processing requirements.
POTAG recognises that a lot of strides have been made so far, for instance the Grading Structure and the Market Premium have been determined; the mapping by the Polytechnics with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) was also completed about three weeks ago.
The Commission has however requested POTAG to furnish it with the bio-data of mem…
- The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) is reinforcing its decongestion exercise to eject all traders and hawkers who ply their business in the central business district.
A decongestion taskforce was established about two-and-half years ago to ensure the pavements and walkways in Adum, Kejetia and other parts of the city centre are free of unauthorized structures.
A statement issued by the Assembly however says some traders have returned to settle on the pavements, creating human and vehicular congestion.
The traders have been ordered to move out of the pavements by Monday, May 7, 2012.
“The decongestion team together with all the security personnel at the Assembly have be…
- Five start-up entrepreneurs from Ghana have received the prestigious SEED Award, founded by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
These initiatives were selected from over 450 applications originating from 75 countries worldwide because of their innovation, their potential to scale up, and their ability to simultaneously create economic, social and environmental benefits and therefore to help meet sustainable development challenges in Ghana.
The five winners were celebrated, together with 30 other SEED Winners, at an International Awards Ceremony in South Africa,…
- Growing competition in the sachet water business in Kumasi is brewing unhealthy rivalry among key players.
Rumours have been flying in the city suggesting Everpure, a leading producer of purified water, had been supplying water stored in snake-infested tanks to consumers.
The company has debunked the claims which officials attribute to what they describe as unscrupulous competitors, who feel threatened by Everpure’s growing influence in the Kumasi market.
A statement issued by the company also said “some people are indulging in undercutting of prices and imitation of Everpure Logo with the sole aim of tarnishing our hard-won image and hoping to bring our booming busin…
- Workers in the Ashanti region have committed themselves to contribute to ensuring a peaceful election in December, as they joined others in the country and the world over to celebrate May Day.
Hundreds of jubilant workers in both the public and private sectors converged at the Jubilee Park in Kumasi for the regional rally to commemorate the day.
Organized labour chose the theme: “Election 2012, the Role of Workers in Securing Peaceful and Fair Elections”, to join in the national crusade for a violent-free electioneering.
Regional Minister, Dr. Kwaku Agyemang-Mensah enjoined workers’ organizations to help maintain the nation’s peace for accelerated developme…
- A former director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Alhaji Dr. Mohammed Bin Ibrahim has enjoined health service professionals to always resist the temptation of embarking on sit down strike.
According to him, such an industrial action should not be entertained by health workers because “God has placed them in a position to heal and save lives”.
He was addressing the 4th matriculation ceremony of the Community Health Nurses’ Training School, Fomena, in the Adansi North District of Ashanti.
Dr. Ibrahim, who currently serves as the National Coordinator for the GHS’ Leadership Development Program, says health workers should at all times seek dialogue in resolv…
- Over 90% of Ghana’s rainforests have been destroyed and the country’s frogs are rapidly disappearing, says Kumasi-based nonprofit organization, SAVE THE FROGS!
Ghana is joining 36 other countries across the globe to raise public awareness on the threats to frogs in commemoration of the international Save The Frogs Day on April 28.
The climax of events has been scheduled for Kumasi where SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana members, students, volunteers and other frog lovers will celebrate the Day at the KNUST’s Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources in Kumasi.
Organizers say the country’s politicians and decision-makers will be educated about frog conservation including…
- Farmers in parts of the country are worried at the delay in taking delivery of government’s subsidized fertilizer for the current crop season, as the rains set in.
They say the late implementation of the subsidy program will not be in the best interest of small-scale farmers.
The Fertilizer Subsidy Programme was instituted by the Government in 2008 to help farmers increase fertilizer application, to increase crop production.
The program has the aim of increasing the country's fertilizer application rate to at least 50Kg per hectare as recommended in the Medium Term Agricultural Sector Investment Programme of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
Some farmers in the A…
- The poor ranking of the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) in the first quarter of the year should not deter the investing public in their investment drive, according to financial analysts.
A report by Databank placed the GSE as the third-worst performing equity market among 15 others surveyed in sub-Saharan Africa between January and March 2012, beating only the Mauritius and Zambiam markets.
The steep depreciation of the cedi against the dollar has been cited for the market slip of the GSE, which is the fifth most capitalised stock exchange in the region.
But financial analysts have cautioned against any rush to conclude that the market is not worth investing in, emphasizing that there…
- The Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) has unveiled its VISA Classic Card service and other electronic banking products to customers in Kumasi.
Managing Director, Stephen Kpordzih, says the transformation of the bank’s IT infrastructure and investments in technology in the last two years is in line with ADB’s three-year strategic plan to be among the best performing banks.
“With a fully computerized network, modernized IT infrastructure, and powerful IT banking software, ADB has built a large capacity for transaction processing and service delivery. Transaction volumes have increased exponentially, while percentage uptime for QuicCash services on our ATMs has reach…
- Tullow Ghana Limited has reiterated its commitment to support local manpower development for Ghana’s budding oil and gas industry.
The company and other partners have donated geo-science books to the KNUST College of Engineering, to aid graduate training in petrochemical and allied engineering.
According to Nana Appia Kyei, Subsurface Manager at Tullow, the teaching and learning of geology and geophysics are fundamental disciplines in crude oil exploration.
He believes the country needs a mass of professionals in disciplines like sub-sea, petroleum and reservoir engineering to facilitate oil production.
Nana Kyei says resourcing the KNUST College of Engineering is part of…
- The mass distribution and hang-up campaign of the Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLIN) in the Kumasi metropolis has been extended to Thursday, April 5, 2012.
The expansion is to afford majority of households to access and benefit from the free net distribution being hung by volunteers in local communities.
The national exercise is part of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) strategy to control malaria by preventing mosquito bites through sleeping under the net.
Data on the current distribution in the five sub-metros of Kumasi are not readily available, but some supervisors are reporting 60-70 percent coverage of households.
Regional Health Promotion Officer, Mabel Asafo told Luv Ne…
- Ghanaian mobile phone and computer assembling firm, rlg Communications, has appointed David Afugani as Chief Operating Officer to oversee its West African operations.
He will work closely with the various rlg Country Directors with oversight responsibility of their commercial functions as well as oversee the setting up of full-scale operations in various markets in the sub-region.
The appointment, according to Group Chairman, Roland Agambire, is in line with the company’s drive to grow its market, re-engineer its processes and streamline the business structure.
Apart from its Ghana operations, rlg is in the Gambia and Nigeria, with plans to expand to Sierra Leone, Cote d…
- Can a Christian uphold the values of the religion and still succeed in the world of business?
The subject matter has been explored by some astute business leaders in Kumasi at a Christian Business Forum organized by the Grace Baptist Church.
According to Head Pastor of the Church, Rev. Robert Asante, one area of life where people have difficulty keeping to their Christian principles is in business transactions.
He acknowledged doing business God’s way is not an easy task but emphasized that the desire to make profit from business should not stand in the way of the desire to please God.
He said it is only a Christian “soaked in the spirit” who can do business w…
- Leading telecommunications service provider, MTN Ghana has suffered about 100 fibre cable cuts in the first two months of this year. The company recorded over 150 of such cuts in 2011.
Officials are worried at the huge additional expenditure the company has had to incur in repairing the cable as well as the difficulties customers in affected areas have to experience in accessing telecommunication services.
Corporate Service Executive, Cynthia Lumor told Luv Biz Report in Kumasi that the company spends an average Gh˘8,000 to fix the cables.
She says between 50-70 percent of the cuts are as a result of road construction projects, whilst others are attributed to bush burning, theft…
- The introduction of the ‘Nitrabor’ fertilizer product to Ghanaian cocoa farmers has the potential to significantly push up the country’s cocoa production targets.
This is according to officials of Yara Ghana, a leading mineral fertilizer company, who are enthused at the feedback from farmers in using the product.
“Looking at the fact that farmers are even happy with the 700kg they’re getting for using ‘Kokoo Asaase Wura’, if you combine it with the use of just one bag of Nitrabor per acre and you’re going to get almost 100 percent increment in the yield, then of course farmers will be getting more money into their pockets”, stated…
- Ghana’s Kuapa Kokoo organization has received an international award for its outstanding commitment to quality and excellence in business operations.
The Madrid-based Business Initiative Directions (B.I.D.) awarded Kuapa in the Gold category of the Century International Quality Era Award 2012.
The recognition was premised on the company’s success story in improving the livelihoods of cocoa farmers in Ghana and its strong leadership, technology and innovation in business.
Companies from 47 countries around the world were presented with various awards for their achievements in quality and excellence at the event, held in Geneva’s Inter-Continental Convention Hall.…
- Private health service providers in the Ashanti region are yet to rescind a decision to provide care to clients on the basis of ‘cash and carry’.
According the Society of Private Medical and Dental Practitioners (SPMDP), the revised per capita rate of GH1.43 for the private providers under the health capitation scheme is still very low to sustain businesses of members.
The group is looking for a minimum rate of GH7.85 as an interim measure whilst working on a consultancy to develop the best rate for private providers to offer quality care to patients.
The SPMDP and the Ghana Registered Midwives Association withdrew from the pilot implementation of the capitation scheme…
- The Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company (GCMC) has re-launched its products in Kumasi, after a two year break in production.
The company was established by government in 1998 to produce LPG cylinders and accessories for the local and export markets, as part of a national drive to curtail forest depletion and environmental degradation.
The resuscitation of the company is critical to discourage patronage of second-hand gas cylinders, which have been cited for the recent spate of gas explosions across the country.
As part of the product re-launch in Kumasi, officials educated the public on the use and proper handling of LPG cylinders.
Chief Executive of GCMC, Elizabeth Yawa Morny…
- The Future Agricultures Consortium (FAC) will be providing funding support for research projects geared towards establishing a much stronger research base to inform policy around young people and agrifood in Africa.
This is in line with the goal of FAC’s co-hosting of the international conference on ‘Young People, Farming and Food’ with the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) at the University of Ghana.
Researchers and other partners at the Accra dialogue presented diverse papers which, according to FAC’s Jim Sumberg, “would be mould into a more coherent body of research and evidence”.
Concluding submissions by confere…
- Shared experiences from Cadbury Cocoa Ambassadors in Ghana lighted up the ‘Young People, Farming and Food’ conference in Accra, as they inspired hope of youth involvement in Africa’s agricultural production.
The Ambassadorial program under the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership has engaged ten talented students from various tertiary institutions to help drive the farming interest of young people in cocoa growing communities.
The program has adopted the ‘Young Empowering Young Model’ to whip up enthusiasm among young people to get actively involved in the cocoa supply chain.
Ambassador Ebenezer Annor is a 22-year old final year agricultural student of the Kwam…
