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DELIVERING NEWS IN AN EXTRA WAY
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GHANA EMPOWERS MARITIME REGULATOR FOR OIL INDUSTRY
By Amewuga Ablordeppey
ACCRA, Dec 14 (Xinhua) -- The Ghanaian government has given approval for the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) to procure a vessel traffic management information system (VTMIS) to facilitate electronic surveillance of Ghana’s maritime domain for navigational safety, security and protection of the marine environment.
The system would facilitate the smooth management of Ghana’s maritime domain during the operation of the oil and gas industry which is set to take off on Wednesday December 15 with the official opening by the Ghanaian President, John Evans Atta Mills.
Issaka Peter Azuma, Director-General of the GMA told Xinhua in an interview here on Tuesday that aside this system, the Authority had prepared seven pieces of legislation to support the country’s oil and gas sector.
He named the legislations as the Ghana maritime security (amendment) bill; the Ghana maritime authority (amendment) bill; the marine pollution bill, the Ghana shipping Act (amendment) bill; the shipping protection of offshore operations and assets regulations; Ghana maritime authority (maritime safety fees and charges) regulations; and marine pollution prevention and control regulations.
Azuma expressed the hope that the legislations that had been presented to cabinet would be worked on early to enable the GMA to perform its role as the regulator of the maritime domain effectively.
He disclosed that the GMA was ready to ward off any acts of aggression, by coordinating Ghana’s Navy and other forces to thwart such acts.
He however said he wished the West African country would not face the Somali situation. Another important attainment to support the oil and gas industry was when Ghana obtained approval for an area to be avoided (ATBA) around the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) MV Kwame Nkrumah located 64 km south of the coast of Ghana in the Atlantic.
The ATBA is circular in shape centered on operational wellhead at Latitude 04° 32’.1 N Longitude 002° 54.60W.
The ATBA would be placed on navigational charts to alert mariners about the presence of the FPSO, underwater well-heads and production systems to enable mariners avoid interference with the FPSO interface operations and maneuvering of ships to and from the facility.
AFRICAN COUNTRIES STEP UP COASTAL SECURITY
By Amewuga Ablordeppey
ACCRA, Dec 13 (Xinhua) -- The Maritime Organization of West and Central Africa (MOWCA) on Monday begun a five-day Regional Workshop aimed at enhancing effective coast guarding between member countries. The workshop would also develop a roadmap and strategies for operationalizing the concept of networking among the 25-member countries. John Dramani Mahama, Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, bemoaned the increasing trend of pirating in the coasts of the sub-regions of West and East Africa. He said Ghana had decided to support the international maritime community with the on-going global resolve to stop maritime crime which he observed seriously affected international shipping. The workshop was taking place at a time when 27 incidents involving acts of piracy and armed robbery against ships engaged in international shipping occurred within the first to the third quarters of this year. For his part, Issaka Peter Azuma, Director-General of the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA), gave the assurance that the GMA would continue to partner well intentioned international organization on maritime affairs and play an advocacy role to ensure that the sub-region did not become a safe-haven for maritime crime, dumping of toxic chemicals and substandard ships. The GMA was responsible for the management of Ghana’s Maritime Domain and ensured the effective implementation of the Ghana Maritime Security Act 765 of 2004. The MOWCA Network has the object of strengthening regional cooperation and building the requisite capacity for enhanced maritime safety, security, search and rescue programmes, marine environment protection and combat crime associated with piracy and armed robbery against ships, illegal migration, trafficking of drugs and weapons, illegal bunkering and illegal *** improper fishing. The Network was the realization of the adoption of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at a General Assembly of ministers held in Dakar, Senegal in July 2008. For the five days, the participants would consider among other things the following agenda: the signing of the MOU by MOWCA member states; maritime security and safety issues; legal frameworks; and, sustainable development of the economic exclusive zone of member states. France, United Kingdom, United States of America, and Lithuania are among countries and organizations represented at the workshop, including the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the International Maritime Organization. BOG REVIEWS GHANAIAN ECONOMY December 10, 2010 Accra Below is the full press statement delivered by the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, who is also Chairman of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) which reviewed the economy of Ghana and presented the results to the press in Accra. [1] Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press, welcome to the press briefing following the 42nd meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee, the last for the year 2010. Let me take this opportunity therefore to wish you all a happy festive season. [2] The Committee has met since Monday and discussed developments in the various sectors of the economy up to November 2010. The review covered the global outlook, inflation and the factors underlying it, the execution of the 2010 budget, growth prospects. We also assessed the level of business and consumer confidence, the stability of the financial system as well as developments in the external sector. Global Economic Developments [3] Global economic trends point to recovery but at varying paces across the different regions of the world. While solid growth is being registered in Emerging Markets and the Developing Economies, growth has been weak in the Advanced Economies. [4] We observed that since October 2010 commodity prices, including crude oil, have been rising. There has also been a re-alignment of major currencies in the international market with the United States dollar depreciating against the other major international currencies following the start of the second phase of Quantitative Easing by the Federal Reserve Board. Inflation and Output [5] Since the last Monetary Policy Committee meeting in September, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has produced two reports on inflation which show that inflation has stabilized at just below 9.4 per cent in September and October 2010, compared with 18 per cent in October 2009. Within the components of inflation food inflation turned in at 5.6 per cent (from 13.5 per cent a year ago) while non-food inflation was 11.8 per cent (having reached 21.1 per cent a year ago). [6] Of the overall 5.4 percentage points decline in inflation this year, the weighted contribution of the non-food sector was 3.9 per cent while food contributed 1.5 per cent towards the decline. [7] In the absence of quarterly GDP numbers, the Bank of Ghana uses information from its Composite Index of Economic Activity (CIEA) to gauge the direction and tempo of economic activity. Our data shows that on a quarterly basis, the CIEA declined by 6.3 per cent during the first quarter. Thereafter, it increased by 3.5 per cent during the second quarter and then increased further to 5.5 per cent during the third quarter of the year. [8] In year–on-year terms, the index had registered a growth of 9.9 per cent (in real terms) compared to 3.8 per cent for the same period last year. The construction sector, household spending, external trade, tourism, domestic manufacturing and industrial output which contributed to the slowdown in economic activity a year earlier, are recording moderate growth in 2010. However, weak conditions are being observed in credit delivery. While output growth may be slightly below trend, the view of the Committee is that the rebound observed in economic activity would contribute in pushing growth towards trend in the coming months. [9] The Bank of Ghana also conducts regular surveys on Business and Consumer Confidence. In the survey conducted in October, both Consumer and Business sentiments improved, with a much stronger rebound by consumers. Businesses expressed optimism regarding capital expenditures, sales and level of profits but were less optimistic about employment prospects. Government’s Fiscal Operations [10] Provisional data compiled by the Bank of Ghana on the execution of the 2010 budget at end-November show that revenue & grants grew, in year-on-year terms, by 25.4 per cent compared with 20.7 per cent growth in the same period of 2009. The pace of spending increased significantly, reaching 32.8 per cent in year-on-year terms compared with an annual decline of about 5 per cent for the same period in 2009. These developments resulted in a fiscal deficit, on a narrow coverage basis, of 6.7 per cent compared to a deficit of 4.7 per cent a year ago. Interest Rate Structure [11] Developments in Money Market activity since our last meeting continue to reflect the easing of inflation expectations. A strong non-resident investor demand has continued to contribute to the lengthening of the average maturity. The share of short-dated government securities went down to 36.6 per cent in October 2010 from 38.8 per cent in August 2010. [12] Interest rates declined over the entire spectrum of the yield curve. Between August and November, the 91-day Treasury bill rate declined from 12.7 per cent to 12.3 per cent. The 182-day Treasury bill rate also declined from 13.1 to 12.7 per cent. [13] The rate on the 1-year note fell from 13.4 per cent to 12.72 per cent. That for the 2-year fixed rate note also dropped from 13.4 per cent to 12.75 per cent. [14] The 3-year instrument, which was at 14.2 per cent in August, went down to 13.3 per cent in November 2010. [15] Over the same period, the interbank overnight rate, which is the rate at which Commercial banks borrow from each other, fell from 12.3 per cent to 11.6 per cent. [16] The average base and lending rates of the Deposit Money Banks (DMB’s) declined over the period. Between August and October, the average base rates quoted by the banks declined by 93 basis points to 26.2 per cent while average lending rates declined by 87 basis points to 27.6 per cent over the same period. [17] The average deposit rates of the commercial banks were unchanged at 9.5 per cent between August and October 2010. [18] Therefore during the period August to October, commercial banks’ spreads, which is the difference between the average of the lending rates and the average deposit rate, narrowed by 87 basis points. Banking Sector Developments [19] The Banking Sector continued to be well capitalized, profitable and liquid. Total assets of the industry as at end-September 2010 was GH¢15.6 billion, and represented a growth of 29.1 percent over the September 2009 position. The increase in assets was due mainly to increase in deposits. [20] The banking industry’s capital adequacy ratio (CAR), which is a measure of the industry’s ability to withstand unexpected loses, increased from 14.9 per cent in December 2009 to 19.1 per cent in September 2010. [21] The Non Performing Loans (NPL) ratio measures the loan portfolio quality of banks and is defined as the ratio of loan losses to gross advances. Having ended 2009 at 16.2 per cent, it peaked at 20 per cent in February 2010 but has since been trending downwards and was 18.1 per cent at September 2010. [22] The Bank of Ghana Credit Conditions survey conducted in November 2010 show some improvement in access to credit by Small and Medium-scale Enterprises for the first time since the beginning of 2010. This development helped to improve overall credit conditions in the last quarter of this year. The access of large enterprises and households to consumer credit also continued to improve. Expectations regarding general economic activity, competition among commercial banks and reductions in markups contributed to the net easing of credit. However the credit stance on mortgage finance continued to tighten. [23] In real terms credit to the private sector is recovering, increasing by 2.5 per cent between June and September 2010. On annual basis, growth of DMB’s credit to the private sector declined by 0.4 per cent in October, compared with the decline of 3.8 per cent at end-July 2010. External Sector Developments [24] Export earnings during the first three quarters improved on the back of strong increases in volume and prices of gold and cocoa. Exports registered a growth of US$1.7 billion (40.4 per cent) to US$5.9 billion while imports increased by US$2 billion (34.0 per cent) in year-on-year terms to nearly US$8 billion. The trade balance for the first nine months of the year therefore worsened by US$332 million, due mainly to increased imports. [25] The financial and capital account for the first three quarters was estimated at US$1.9 billion due to larger than anticipated Foreign Direct Investments as well as large portfolio investments from non-residents. FDI flows were estimated at over US$1.3 billion of which the oil sector accounted for a significant portion. Portfolio investments were in excess of US$550 million. These developments in the financial and capital account were offset by developments in the current account which recorded a deficit of US$1.8 billion. On account of the improvements in the capital and financial account, the Balance of Payments registered a surplus of US$101 million for the first three quarters. [26] Total transfers into the economy which accrued to individuals for January – October 2010 was estimated at US$1.2 billion compared with US$1.3 billion recorded for the same period in 2009. [27] As a result of the favourable outturn of the Balance of Payments, Gross International Reserves increased by US$1.3 billion to US$4.4 billion at the end of November 2010 translating, on average, into 3.5 months of import cover for goods and services. [28] Developments in the external accounts together with the re-alignment of currencies in the international markets resulted in the stability of the Ghana Cedi against the three major currencies in the year to November. The Ghana Cedi depreciated marginally by 0.31 per cent against the US dollar during the period while appreciating by 8.6 per cent and 13.5 per cent against the Pound Sterling and the Euro respectively. These compare with depreciations of 17.6 per cent, 24.4 per cent and 28.1 per cent respectively against the three currencies in November 2009. [29] On the basis of the developments in the exchange rate of the three core currencies against the Ghana cedi, a nominal effective appreciation of 1.3 per cent in trade-weighted terms over the January – November 2010 period was recorded. This compares with a nominal effective depreciation of 10 per cent over the corresponding period in 2009. [30] The performance of the real exchange rate of the cedi against the three core currencies combined (i.e. the effective real exchange) shows that in trade-weighted terms, the cedi appreciated in real terms by 8.5 per cent over the January - October 2010 period. This compares with a real effective depreciation of 12.8 per cent over the corresponding period in 2009. Summary and Outlook [31] To conclude, the macroeconomic policy mix over the past year has provided an anchor for inflation, though the process of disinflation has slowed down considerably in the last few months. Despite the slowdown, the Committee expects that 2010 will end with an inflation rate close to the central target of 9.5 per cent. Looking ahead into 2011, inflation is expected to be below 9 per cent. Continued disinflation will depend on a number of factors. [32] The Committee was encouraged to observe that the banks have begun a process of easing credit conditions. However credit to the private sector remain weak and banks need to further ease credit conditions and allow for a much faster pick up in activity. [33] The overall Balance of Payments has improved significantly in the course of the year. Continuing improvement is expected to give a boost to reserve accumulation and provide stability in the foreign exchange market. [34] However, the Committee identified some potential sources of risk in the outlook for the medium term inflation profile: § The first is on the nature and pace of growth of the budget deficit which needs to be moderated. The potential sources of risk to the 2011 budget were recognized as the management and settlement of payment arrears, the pace of settlement of wage arrears and the inflexibility of the expenditure programme, especially by the continued earmarking of revenues. § The second is on the impact on crude oil prices which could filter through to ex-pump prices. While the Committee recognizes that crude oil price increases could impact adversely on domestic fuel pump prices, it also acknowledges that higher crude oil prices would have a favourable impact on the Balance of Payments and on Government’s fiscal operations through export earnings. The net impact on the economy of future crude oil price increases will therefore be determined by the extent to which the negative and positive effects balance out. § The third is associated with the significant build-up in foreign exchange reserves arising out of inflows of private capital in the money market and in foreign direct investment. Further liquidity will be injected into the economy by the extent of spending of petroleum revenues. These two factors will present liquidity management challenges for the Bank of Ghana. With very low returns on foreign assets and high domestic costs of sterilization, there has been a significant increase in the cost of Open Market Operations. [35] Factoring in the inflation outcome for the end of the year, the inflation outlook for 2011, the recovery in economic activity and the counterbalancing effects of the risks in the outlook, the Monetary Policy Committee has decided to maintain the Monetary Policy Rate at 13.5 per cent. Thank You Nigerians To Mark 50th Independence In Ghana September 25, 2010 Accra Members of the Nigeria community in Ghana have been promised a memorable celebration of the 50th anniversary of their country. In that vein, Radiance Interactive Ghana limited in conjunction with Punchline Entertainment, have put together an amusement package dubbed the Green Carpet Party. The package, scheduled for this evening at the african regent today, includes a variety of entertainment events like music performance, fashion extravanganza and stand-up comedy shows. According to the CEO of Radiance Interactive Ghana limited, Mr Richmond Chitoro Smith, the event is to create room for friends of Nigeria, artistes and Nigerians residing in Accra to have an unforgettable memory of Nigeria as the country observes its 50th independence today. Mr Smith said the Green Carpet Party was also aimed at unifying the Nigeria community in Ghana by showcasing their positive attributes.
MPC MAINTAINS PRIME RATE AT 13.5%
The Bank of Ghana has maintained its prime rate at 13.5% based on its outlook of the economy in the last two months.
Below is the full press statement as read by the Chairman of the Monetary Policy Committee of the BOG, Mr. Kwesi Amissah-Arthur.
MPC PRESS STATEMENT ISSUED ON 24TH SEPTEMBER 2010 Accra: September 24 2010
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Media, welcome to the press briefing of the 41st meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee.
The Committee reviewed developments in the economy up to September as well as the domestic and external outlook. We reviewed global developments, domestic inflationary trends, the execution of the 2010 budget, growth prospects, business and consumer confidence, developments in the financial system and the external sector.
Almost a year after most advanced economies started putting in place stimulus economic packages and adopting unconventional monetary policy tools to address weak economic conditions and prevent a global depression, conditions in most of these economies are yet to return to normal. There is continued sluggishness in the world economy, especially in the United States and Europe’s debt crisis is causing some uncertainty.
Output and Inflation
The Ghana Statistical Service has now stated that the GDP growth rate for 2009 was 4.1 percent and not the 4.7 percent it had earlier projected. While the Agricultural sector in 2009 grew at the same pace as it did in 2008, the industrial and services sectors grew at a slower pace, thus contributing to the lower than anticipated growth.
At the July 2010 Monetary Policy Committee meeting, the indication from trends in the Bank of Ghana’s Composite Index of Economic Activity (CIEA) at the end of the first quarter of 2010 was that economic activity had begun to pick up. This trend has continued to date. As at July 2010, the index had recorded a real growth of 3.5 percent compared with a growth of 2.5 percent for the corresponding period of 2009.
Overall Business Confidence has been positive for most of the year although there was a marginal dip in August 2010. Businesses assessment of trends in interest rate and consumer price movements were favourable. However businesses were less optimistic about the realization of government’s growth target for the year.
After declining marginally in the June 2010 survey round, overall consumer confidence rebounded during August 2010 driven largely by an improved economic environment, declining inflation situation and improved food supply conditions.
The inflation rate announced by the Ghana Statistical Service in August and September all confirm the declining trend in the rate of inflation. The CPI for July 2009 was 9.46 percent, down on the June 2010 rate of 9.52 per cent and then marginally down to 9.44 percent for August 2010.The overall inflation rate has therefore eased from almost 16 percent at the end of December 2009 to 9.4 percent at the end of August 2010. Food inflation has dropped from 11.8 percent to 5.3 percent while Non-food inflation fell from 18.8 percent to 12.3 percent during the same period.
Government’s Budgetary Operations
1. Data on government transactions through the Bank of Ghana show that at the end of August 2010 the budget recorded a narrow deficit, on a cash basis, of GH¢1.24 billion (4.8 per cent of GDP) marginally exceeding the target of GH¢1.21 billion (4.7 per cent of GDP). The overall deficit, together with the TOR financing of GH¢445.0 million resulted in an overall Net Domestic Financing (NDF) of GH¢1.6 billion (6.2% of GDP). Although this was within the ceiling of GH¢1.7 billion (6.5% of GDP) for the end of the third quarter, the full implementation of the Single Spine Salary Scheme and the settlement of existing arrears would have changed this picture.
Interest Rate Structure
2. Developments in Money Market activities since the July 2010 meeting continue to reflect the easing of inflation expectations. A strong non-resident investor demand has contributed to the lengthening of the average maturity.
· Interest rates declined over the entire spectrum of the yield curves with observed further shifts towards long-dated instruments. The share of the short-dated government securities went down to 38.8 per cent in August 2010 from 39.8 per cent in June 2010.
· Between June and August 2010, the 91-day Treasury bill rate declined from 12.9 percent to 12.7 percent. The 182-day Treasury bill rate also declined from 13.4 per cent to 13.1 per cent.
· The rate on the 1-year note fell from 13.8 percent to 13.4 percent. That for the 2-year fixed rate note also dropped from 13.9 percent to 13.4 per cent.
· The 3-year fixed rate which was 15.7 per cent in June went down to 14.3 per cent in August 2010.
· Over the same period, the interbank overnight rate, which reflect the rate at which commercial banks borrow and lend from each other, fell further from 13.2 per cent to 12.3 per cent.
3. Deposit money banks average base and lending rates witnessed declines over the period. Between June and August, the average base rate quotations of the banks declined by 153 basis points to 27.1 per cent while average lending rates declined by 213 basis points to 28.5 per cent over the same period.
4. The average deposit rates of the commercial banks reduced from 9.5 per cent in June to 8.9 per cent in August.
5. During the period June to August 2010 therefore, commercial banks’ spreads, defined as the difference between the average lending rates and the average deposit rate, narrowed by 1.2 percentage points.
Banking Sector Developments
6. The total assets of the banking industry grew from GH ¢14.0 billion at the end of December 2009 to GH ¢15.1 billion by the end of July 2010. This represents a growth in the total asset base by 7.8 per cent. The banking sector continued to be well capitalised, profitable and liquid. However, the current level of non-performing loans (adversely classified loans) is impacting on the balance sheet of the banks.
7. The banking industry’s capital adequacy ratio (CAR), which is a measure of the industry’s ability to withstand unexpected loses, increased from 14.9 percent in December 2009 to 19.1 percent in July 2010.
8. Non Performing Loans (NPL), a measure of commercial banks loan portfolio quality and defined as the ratio of loan losses to gross advances showed a marginal improvement during the first 7-months of the year. The NPL’s which stood at 16.2 percent in December 2009, peaked at 20 per cent in February and has since improved to a position of 18.2 percent in July 2010.
9. The latest credit conditions survey by the Bank of Ghana show a general net easing of credit conditions for enterprises, with a shift from small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) to large enterprises. The survey also shows that banks increased credit to households. However credit for mortgages tightened in August 2010. Reductions in margins on average loans and maximum size of loan/credit lines were the main contributing factors for the easing of the credit stance for large enterprises and for consumer credits.
10. Real annual DMBs credit to the private sector declined by 3.8 per cent at end-July 2010 compared with a growth of 11.6 per cent at the end of July 2009.
External Sector Developments
11. The Balance of payments (BOP) for the first half of the year showed an improved performance relative to the position a year earlier. Provisional estimates for the first half of 2010 recorded a surplus of US$199.7 million, which compares favourably with a deficit of US$625.9 million registered during the corresponding period of 2009. This development in the balance of payments is due to a marked improvement in the financial and capital account which more than compensated for a worsening in the current account.
12. For the first eight months of the year, the balance on the trade account was provisionally estimated at US$2.0 billion, compared to US$1.5 billion for the similar period of 2009. Exports improved by 44.8 percent to US$5.1 billion. The strong export performance was the result of increases in both volume and price of gold and cocoa.
13. Imports increased by 35.6 percent to US$7.1 billion. Oil and non-oil imports increased by 59.3 percent and 31.1 percent to US$1.3 billion and US$5.8 billion respectively.
14. Gross International Reserves of the Bank of Ghana improved by US$286.3 million to US$3.3 billion at the end of August 2010. The increase was partially accounted for by the BOP surplus of US$200.0 million recorded in the first half of the year. The reserve was enough to cover 2.8 months of imports of goods and services.
15. The Ghana cedi appreciated by 2.1 per cent, 7.8 per cent and 15.4 percent against the dollar, sterling and euro respectively, on year-on-year terms, as at the end of August 2010. The combined developments in the cedi against the three core currencies showed a nominal effective appreciation of 3.2 percent in trade-weighted terms over the January – August 2010 period. This compares with effective depreciation of 9.7 percent over the corresponding period in 2009.
Summary and Conclusions
16. To conclude, developments in the global economy show that the world economy is yet to fully recover from the effects of the recession. While growth conditions in China and other Asian economies remain modestly strong, Europe’s economy is beginning to register some growth while the United States economy is still weak. The outlook for crude oil prices remains benign. In the view of the committee, the impact of future impulses from potential crude oil prices to the domestic economy may thus pose no immediate threat to inflation at this stage.
17. The Committee identified some rigidities in the banking sector that inhibit the effective transmission of monetary policy. Of particular concern are the large deposits of some public agencies within the banking system. The Committee urges the fiscal and monetary authorities to collaborate to resolve this problem.
18. On the domestic economy, the Committee is of the view that the decline in inflation over the past twelve months may continue into October 2010 and further into 2011, although at a slower pace anchored on lower food prices and a stable exchange rate. These initial conditions are expected to help contribute favourably in ensuring that inflation stays within target. While acknowledging that inflation will ease over the horizon, there are some elements of risks and uncertainties that could impact on the scenario.
19. The major risk is the potential impact of fiscal-driven aggregate demand pressures on the economy. At the July 2010 MPC meeting vulnerabilities in the fiscal outlook were enumerated. Added to the risks in the fiscal outlook are renewed wage pressures from the public sector and its impact on Government expenditures. These demands would have to be moderated and managed to ensure that the fiscal programme remains within acceptable targets.
20. On growth, the Committee noted that the economy was currently operating below its potential. Current developments in the Bank of Ghana’s Composite Index of Economic Activity point to weak conditions. The sluggish pace in economic activity has implications for economic growth in the non-oil sector in 2010. The anticipated slow growth in the GDP in 2010, emanating from signals in the CIEA implies that the process of fiscal consolidation may be delayed as tax revenue targets may not be achieved.
21. On the basis of the balance of risks, the Committee has decided to maintain the Monetary Policy Rate at 13.5 per cent.
Thank You
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100 SEMI-FINALISTS OF THE GIM AWARDS RECEIVE TRAINING
Accra: March 11, 2010:
100 semi-finalists of the Ghana Innovation Marketplace awards have received training to fine-tune their proposals for the final stage of the competition.
At the end, 50 winning participants will receive direct awards of up to GHC 50,000 to be used towards implementation of their business plans. Others will receive recognition or other in-kind services.
To shortlist the semi-finalists, 142 applications were received under the categories of waste collection, value addition as well as advocacy and education.
Closing the training session, the Programme Coordinator of the Ghana Innovation Marketplace, Mrs. Maureen Odoi, said the objective was to stimulate small and medium-scale actors in the waste sector to generate innovative and sustainable proposals that address deficient waste management practices in Ghana.
The Manager of The Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Project at Ministry of Finance, Mr Francis Kusi noted that the school system often destroys creativity and therefore advised that children be encouraged to cultivate their creativity and knowledge.
A past winner of the marketplace awards, Mr Prince Sackey Tawiah, who is CEO of Toetalk Shoes, also admonished that as entrepreneurs, the competitors must develop attitudes that would enable them to overcome the pressures of society.
The Ghana innovation marketplace awards is coordinated by African Aurora Business Network. This is the second time the competititon is being organised in the country. the first one was in 2004.
END
GHANAIAN WRITERS URGED TO PRODUCE MORE WORKS FOR YOUNG READERS
Accra, March 1, 2010:
Ghanaian writers have been urged to develop skills that would help them produce works for children and young readers.
The Executive Director of Ghana Book Trust (GBT), Mr Robert Amoako gave the advise on Monday during the opening of a four-day Burt Award Writers workshop in Accra.
According to him it has been noted that Ghanaian children are not keen on reading because they lack access to books by local writers.
Mr Amoako said it was in this direction that the Book Trust in conjunction with CODE, a Canadian NGO were organising the workshop to improve the capacity of local writers.
He stated that it has become necessary to produce more stories for young people that would encourage them to read more.
In that direction, CODE and the Book Trust are organising the Burt Award For African Literature competition for the first time in the country and the second on the continent.
The GBT Executive Director therefore encouraged both authors and publishers to take advantage of the competition to win the attractive prizes at stake.
The workshop being attended by 30 participants, has Mr Peter Carver, a seasoned Canadian writer and publisher together with Mr Daniel Krampah, a retired Ghanaian writer and educationist as the facilitators.
Mr Carver hinted that the workshop was also to sharpen the skills of participants to ensure that those taking part in the competition present works of outstanding quality.
The Burt Award for African Literature is a newly created cash prize award that honours and supports the writing and publication of excellent young adult literature by and for Africans. The programme recognises outstanding authors and ensures publication of their work by local publishers. The award was officially launched by the Canadian high commissioner to Ghana in September last year.
Tanzania was the first country to organise the competition last year. END
Pix
| Participants at Burt award Writers workshop |
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| anextranews | GLAD TO BE BACK ON SITE! | 0 | Jan 25 2008, 11:34 AM EST by anextranews | ||
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It has been a long time that i worked on this site, and so am very glad to take up the work again. please feel free to contact me on anything about this site. your assistance is very much welcomed.
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| anextranews | media practice | 0 | May 19 2007, 7:14 AM EDT by anextranews | ||
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The media is a paltform for knowledge and information, so this is a good effort to take local Ghanaian journalism into the future by establishing an online news channel. Good Luck
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