Kofi Ahovi

By Kafui Gale-Zoyiku and Kofi Ahovi The mining industry has reacted to the new tax reforms introduced in the 2012 budget statement by the government. According to the industry, the new reforms would deter the mining companies to make further investments in the sector. However no categorical statements have so far been made on the fate of any of the major new investment programmes planned by several gold mining firms including Goldfields and Newmont mining. These reactions were made at the end of year get together and farewell celebration for the out-going chief executive officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Dr. Joyce Aryee. The get-together was also used as an opportunity to officially introduce Dr. Tony Aubynn, the new chief executive of the chamber to the mining community. Dr Aubynn with his new appointment is returning to the mining sector where he was at Goldfields Ghana before moving to head Tullow Oil Corporate Affairs department. In the 2012 budget statement, the corpor

By Kofi Ahovi IBM has announced the opening of a new procurement center in Ghana to support IBM’s rapid business growth in the region and lay the foundation for additional industry growth initiatives throughout the continent. According to a statement copied to Business Week, The center, located in Accra, will serve clients and business partners in Ghana and 16 other African countries. For more than four decades, IBM has supplied products and solutions to Ghanaian businesses and organizations and continues to work closely with a growing number of business partners in the country. Accra was chosen in response to emerging regional business requirements for high-value procurement services and processes aimed at transforming the delivery of services. “IBM has made substantial investments in Ghana over the past few years in terms of skills development and we see opportunities for further development as business and government leaders capture the potential of information techno

The Stanbic Income Fund (SIF) has made an 18.47% growth in the first 11 months of 2011. SIF, managed by Stanbic Investment Management Services (SIMS) started trading in January this year at a price of GH¢1. This increased considerably to GH¢1.1435 at half year and to GH¢1.1847 as at first week of November 4, translating into a year-to-date return of 18.47 percent. Portfolio Manager at SIMS, Kwabena Boamah, puts the Fund’s success so far to prudent management and a careful selection of high yielding assets. He said declining yields on government debt paper in the second half of the year had affected the growth of the fund in a way. Government’s Treasury bill for 91-days and 182-days averaged 12.6 percent in the first half of the year but averaged 9 percent in the second half. “Interest rates have declined, in line with market expectations and that’s why we projected a return of 18% but as at November 4, we had done 18.47%. We still have more than a month to go before the year

Dan Mobley, the Standard Chartered Bank Regional Head of Corporate Affairs- Africa, has refuted the notion that Africa has water insecurity and many people are dying of thirst. He added that it was unfortunate that people outside Africa see the continent as a country and generalize everything they hear or see. “Most African countries are water secured contrary to what people outside the continent perceive,” he stated. He explained that they are some countries in Africa that face challenges with water but that is not to say that the whole continent is facing the same problem. Mobley was speaking to a section of the press after a two-day working visit to the country from South Africa. He was with Christiana Marran, Regional Head of Corporate Affairs, Europe and America. The two were in the country to explore opportunities in Ghana as well as understand the Ghanaian success story at first hand. As part of their activity, they visited some media houses, interacted with stakeholders

New Alliance for Health Education and Promotion (NAHEP) has organized a health walk in Dodowa to create and intensify diabetes awareness. The health walk was in partnership with the chief and people of Dodowa as well as the Nation Commission for Civic Education (NCCE). It was also attended by keep fit clubs in the township. The Dean of Students at the Ghana Christian University College, James Yamoah, after the walk, educated the people on the symptoms, treatment and control of the disease. He explained the symptoms to include polyuria, weight loss, continuous hunger, fatigue, feet ulceration among others. According to him, diabetes can be hereditary or non genetic and is very common among older people between 30 years and above. He cautioned them that lack of physical activity, excessive weight and poor diet could lead to diabetes. To prevent the disease, he challenged them to at least engage in any regular physical activity for 30 minutes and avoid the consumption of large

British Airways has completed the latest phase of a multi-million pound redevelopment of its Heathrow engineering base as it prepares for the arrival of its new fleet of Airbus A380 super jumbos, a press release has stated. A 24 tonne roof “eyebrow” has been lifted into place in one of the aircraft hangers as builders raised the height of the entrance to accommodate the A380s. The hangers were built in the early 1950s and gained grade II listed status from English Heritage in 1995. Adapting the landmark buildings requires great care and skill to preserve the internal unsupported arches which were designed by Owen Williams. At nearly 23m high the hangars could easily accommodate the Boeing 747, but with the arrival of 12 A380s from 2013 the entrance to two hangars needed to be raised by another 3.5m to accommodate the larger tail fin. Due to the complexity of the lifting operation and the height of the crane, work had to take place overnight so it wouldn’t interfere with aircraf

By Kofi Ahovi Management of the domestic tax division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has interacted with the media to educate them on the status of the implementation of the GeGov project. GeGov is a project to deliver a new electronic system for the Registrar-General’s Department and the Ghana Revenue Authority. It was launched a few months ago. GeGov is a Public Private Partnership between GCNet and Government of Ghana, specifically the Ministry of Communications, GRA, Registrar-General’s Department (RGD) and the National Information Technology Agency (NITA), to automate business registration and tax administration. The project is supported and partly funded by the World Bank. From next month all new organizations and tax payers will be required to register through the new system as a matter of course while existing customers of GRA and RGD will be expected to re-register. GRA customers will receive a new Registration Number, Certification of Incorporation/Registration an

...gas utilization infrastructure expected in place by Dec 2012 By Kofi Ahovi Construction work is expected to commence early next year on the first gas infrastructure, including a gas processing plant that would represent a major boost to government’s plan to accelerated infrastructure development in 2012. A statement issued on last by National Gas Company (Ghana Gas) and signed by Dr George Sipa-Adjah Yankey, Chief Executive, said the Company has signed a Project Implementation Agreement with a Chinese firm, Sinopec International Petroleum Service Corporation, for the development of the early phase gas infrastructure in the Western Region. Ghana, according to the statement, should have a functioning gas processing plant and infrastructure linking the FSPO Kwame Nkrumah to the processing plant and to Aboadze and Prestea through Esiama by December 2012. “A lot of work has gone into the process so far and the signing of the agreement is good news for Ghana Gas and the peopl

United Bank for Africa (UBA) Ghana has partnered with the Regent University College of Science and Technology to launch Eduportal. Eduportal is software that largely enables students to pay school fees without stress. The Eduportal system is a flagship product developed by the UBA Group for tertiary institutions, which has been rolled out for many universities in Nigeria and other countries. In Ghana, Regent University is the first to start using the Eduportal system. Among other things, Eduportal handles the automation and processing of student and staff data, online application, admission and registration, transcript processing, online payment of tuition and other fees, document sharing, e-learning and checking of results. The Eduportal also provides online registration and admission management, online admission status checking, virtual library among others and it seeks to provide efficiency and reduce manual handling and processing of data. Launching the software, the Deputy

Ghana, represented by the Minister of Tourism, Hon. Akua Sena Dansua (MP), has been appointed a member of the Board of Directors of the prestigious UNWTO ST-EP Foundation. The appointment took place at the nineteenth session of the UNWTO General Assembly held in Gyeongju in the Republic of South Korea from 9th-14th October, 2011. A letter addressed to Hon. Sena Dansua and signed by the UNWTO Secretary General, Taleb Rifai, dated November 17, 2011 confirmed the appointment, and looked forward to Ghana’s active participation on the new Board. ST-EP, an acronym for “Sustainable Tourism Eliminating Poverty” is a project created to harness the developmental power of tourism in the fight against global poverty. Its origins and goals are closely tied to the UN Millennium Development Goals, which includes halving extreme poverty and hunger by the year 2015. The ST-EP is especially focused on people living on less than a dollar a day, and is targeted mainly at the world’s least developed

Toyota Ghana has renovated and furnished the Junior High School block of the Nyame Tease D/A Basic School in Tarkwa with student’s desks. The objective, which was to provide a facilitating and comfortable learning environment for the children, was also part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility as it is interested in improving the lives of the people in the communities within which it operates. Expressing his appreciation, the Head Teacher of the school, Oslo Quayson, commended Toyota Ghana for the kind, timely and thoughtful gesture. He said the classrooms were in a very deplorable state; the floors were bad, the desks were insufficient and ventilation was very poor. He added that “by this gesture, I strongly believe that it will enhance effective teaching and learning in the school”. He also thanked the community for supporting the project. The Managing Director of Toyota Ghana, Takahiko Takabayashi, in his speech restated that, Toyota Ghana always strives to better

World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick said the time for muddling through is over and all countries needed to be responsible stakeholders in the world economy; they need to act on todays problems while building for tomorrows challenges; they need to solve national issues with an eye towards shaping a healthy international system. In a speech at George Washington University entitled Beyond Aid, Zoellick said the world needs to recognize the new realities, unimaginable in 1944 when the World Bank was created, and move to a global system that integrates developed and developing countries, innovation, private investment, and the 50 percent of the world's population too often kept behind -- women. Adapting to this new world is about recognizing that we must all be responsible stakeholders now, Zoellick said, using a term that he first applied in 2005 to Chinas emerging role in the global system. The time for muddling through is over, he said ahead of next weeks World Bank a

TXT Europe, the European operation of TXT Group; a Leading Mobile and Internet Services Provider is set to launch the group’s flagship product Casual Work Market in the European market. TXT Group began operations in Ghana as TXT Ghana in 2003 and quickly expanded to cover key countries across the continent as well as making a bold entry into the European market in September 2010. Casual Work Market as explained is a social commerce platform that facilitates the seamless listing, discovery and engagement of people looking to give or offering to do small jobs and services. Simply put it acts as a digital notice-board for the listing of job offers and facilitates discovery of jobs within varying work types from putting up shelving, fixing a leak in the shower, to doing domestic work such as baby sitting, pet-walking, cleaning or cooking. The platform allows people to effortlessly search for job seekers based on their unique need and criterion. Users of the platform listing job of

By Jeorge Wilson Kingson Two of the most significant legislations needed for an effective oil production business in Ghana are on their way to Parliament for consideration, Businessweek has reliably gathered. The Petroleum Exploration and Production Bill (E&P Bill) and the Local Content Bill are set for presentation to the next meeting of Parliament which commenced last Tuesday, October 25. The E&P Bill has been described as “The Bible” of the oil industry because of its significance. It is the legislation that is expected to provide the framework for exploration and production of petroleum in Ghana. When passed into law it will replace the PNDC Law 84 which is the current law under which petroleum exploration and production activities are undertaken. The Local Content Bill is aimed at mandating that local companies provide as much as 90 percent of the work in some areas of petroleum services within a decade of a project’s initiation, among others. The two bills are es

By Kofi Ahovi Toyota Company Ghana Limited has opened a new Vehicle Delivery Centre for its customers at the North Industrial Area Accra, to provide convenience and privacy for clients. The facility comprises two staff office and four delivery bay. Takahiko Takabayashi, Managing Director of Toyota Ghana, who was speaking at the opening of the Centre last week, explained that the new facility is to ensure better customer satisfaction. He said the centre would ensure that customers received their vehicles in the most comfortable, private, and convenient way. He said in the past customers had to receive their new vehicles in front of the headquarters showroom due to space limitation. "Sometimes, customers had to wait for a while before receiving their new vehicles, this was due to the delivery challenges we had," he added. Takabayashi explained that the introduction of the centre would afford the company the opportunity to conduct frequent vehicle sales and delivery surve

The Switzerland Ghana Chamber of Commerce (SWISSCHAM) last week organized a business cocktail for its members as well as presented certificates to new ones. The occasion was used to sensitize members of the opportunities and threats that exist in Ghana’s housing industry. The CEO of Dewegerr and Brown, Adotei Brown, advised developers and investors to consider investing in and around the beaches, adding that Ghana’s beaches are mostly left fallow. He suggested that office complex or hotels could be built along the beaches. Brown also advised real estate developers to consider building affordable houses to address the challenges of low and middle income Ghanaians adding that if that is not done the country’s housing unit will be difficult to overcome. Ghana is said to have a housing deficit of about 1.5 million housing units. Efforts being taken to address the deficits seems not equate the ever growing demand of Ghanaians. The event brought together professionals from various

The Standard Bank Group, parent company of Stanbic Bank Ghana, and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited (ICBC) have signed two agreements which will provide a framework for cooperation in trade and settlement and the settlement netting of precious metals transactions. The agreements also cover other transactions such as Trade Finance, international payment and RMB settlement. The two agreements were signed yesterday between Craig Bond, China Chief Executive of Standard Bank Group and ICBC’s Senior Vice President Yi Huiman, at SIBOS (SWIFT International Bankers Operation Seminar) in Toronto. The first agreement provides a framework for cooperation in trade and settlement, while the second is a memorandum of understanding relating to settlement netting of precious metals transactions. Commenting on the agreement, Alhassan Andani, Managing Director of Stanbic Bank Ghana underscored the relevance of such agreements as trade between China and emerging markets such as Gh

By Kofi Ahovi The Director General of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Adu Anane-Antwi, has added his voice to calls that the government should request foreign companies that wish to set up in Ghana to list on the Ghana Stock Exchange after some years of operation. Speaking to BusinessWeek, after an interaction with the Institute of Financial and Economy Journalists (IFEJ), he said the government must institute a law that will enforce foreign companies to trade their shares on the Ghanaian capital market. “We should allow them in to do business for at least five years and thereon a policy should compel them to offload part of their shares on the exchange to enable Ghanaians to own part of the company while bringing more vibrancy to the exchange,” he said. He added that “This way, the supply side of the market will see a marked improvement to offer greater variety of safe and reasonable returns to investors,” There have been several calls on government and policy makers

rlg Communications has presented certificates to teachers who took part in the Information Communications Technology (ICT) training with the rlg institute of technology. The training was organized under the auspices of the Ministry of Education as part of its ICT education initiative. Under this initiative, a total of 4,500 teachers nationwide are to benefit from a hands-on practical training and experience with ICT devices and applications. The teachers were trained in basic software applications such as word, excel, windows, and internet browsing among others to equip them with the necessary skills that will enable them impart ICT knowledge to school children. Presenting the certificates to some of the teachers, Communications Manger of rlg, Millicent Atuguba, said the training has become necessary due to the importance attached to roles played by teachers in education and upbringing of children in the country. In a related development, rlg presented a number of laptops t

Private equity funds are expected to play an increasing role in investments flows into Africa in the next 12 months as they seek new growth opportunities outside the depressed markets of developed countries, according to Standard Bank’s Brian Marshall. In a press statement copied to BusinessWeek online, Brain Marshall, Director Diversified Lending and Leverage. says an increasing number of private equity firms are raising capital to invest in sub-Saharan Africa investment strategies and scouting for deal opportunities. He says Standard Bank has been receiving a number of enquiries from several private equity firms seeking partnerships with financial institutions with sub-Saharan Africa presence. Standard Bank has recently been involved in some of the biggest deals involving private equity firms. Earlier this month it acted as debt co-ordinator and lender in the Actis-led acquisition of vehicle tracking company Tracker. Standard Bank also acted as co-debt underwriter in the Brait

By Kofi Ahovi Ghana’s cargo throughput is expected to hit the 15 million tons mark this year mainly on the back of crude oil, cocoa and a projected Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 13.5% according to the Ghana Shippers Authority. At the end of September this year, the total output had increased to 11.5 million tons from 9.3 million tons during the same period in 2010. Dr Kofi Mbiah, Chief Executive Officer, Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) who disclosed this at the seventh maritime law seminar for Judges of the Superior Courts in Accra, said the trend recorded during the past few years indicated that Ghana could achieve the target for the year. The two day seminar discussed issues such as, “The law relating to the sale and purchase of ships, the law on carriage of goods by air, the genesis of and consequences of Maritime piracy and the potential solution for the emerging oil-based economy among others issues.” In the year 2009 however, total goods loaded globally amounted to 7

Golden Star Resources Ltd. has announced preliminary third quarter production results for its Bogoso/Prestea and Wassa/HBB operations. Tom Mair, President and CEO, commented in a press statement copied to BusinessWeek Online, “Bogoso/Prestea is experiencing strong positive progress in both mining and processing operations. Due to the operational improvements we have achieved over the last nine months at the Bogoso/Prestea mine, we have seen metallurgical recovery improve significantly from 56% in the fourth quarter of 2010 to nearly 76% in the third quarter of 2011, a quarterly record. As a result, third quarter gold production at Bogoso/Prestea was slightly higher than we had forecast. Wassa/HBB’s gold production was slightly below expectation in the third quarter due to lower than expected mill availability and ore handling issues. On a consolidated basis, we achieved third quarter gold production guidance. “We continue to focus intensely on cost efficiencies throughout our op

As prosecutors and international police agencies strengthen their efforts to combat corruption, a new online database is logging efforts by national prosecutorial authorities to recover proceeds from corruption and return them to their country of origin. Launched by the Stolen Asset Recovery (StAR) Initiative, a joint program of the World Bank Group and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the StAR Asset Recovery Watch is a research project that systematically compiles information on past and current recovery cases involving corruption. It details 75 cases involving 52 countries of origin of corrupt public officials and 34 jurisdictions from which stolen assets have been recovered since 1980. All of the cases were initiated by individual countries, and none of the cases involved prosecutions or asset recoveries through World Bank or StAR efforts. The database was compiled using government-sanctioned official documents that are already available to the public, such a

British Airways has launched a new application on its Facebook page to allow users to create and comment on their perfect days in locations around the world. The new Perfect Days Facebook app has been designed to allow everyone to share their itinerary for a perfect day in their favourite British Airways destination. The app also allows the airline’s well-travelled staff and cabin crew to give their own handy tips and insider knowledge to give users inspiration for their perfect day. Richard Bowden, British Airways’ digital marketing innovation manager, said “Perfect Days allows travellers to find new experiences and be inspired by others who are passionate about a destination and want to share their insider knowledge and travel tips. “We look forward to receiving their feedback from this first version of the new app.” Users can create an itinerary of things to do, see and experience in one day. They can also add a theme to their day, such as shopping, culture, dining and

Procter and Gamble (P&G), manufacturers of Ariel, Pampers, Always, Gillette, Duracell among others has launched a new antibacterial soap called Safeguard Antibacterial Soap. In partnership with various government organizations, the company also educated school children on the benefits and practice of hand washing to commemorate the global hand washing day which falls on October 15. Launching the product, the country director of P&G, Soile Olumide reiterated the importance of hand washing saying proper hand hygiene is one of the easiest ways to protect the well being of your staff and customers. Ghana is the first country in the Sub-saharan that the Safeguard soap has been launched. It is however available in Egypt and South Africa.

...donates to institutions Adelaide Larissa Boye, last week emerged the grand prize winner of the final draw of the HFC 2010 Homesave promotion. Boye is the third and final winner of three draws of the promotion and she will receive a two-bedroom semi-detach house located at Oyarifa. John Arhinful and Madam Sophia Aryee won the two previous draws. Asare Akuffo, Managing Director of the Bank, described the draw as unique because this was the first time home savers and other savings account holders had the opportunity of winning three 2-bedroom houses in three separate draws. He said the Bank’s commitment to home ownership since its establishment in 1990 had not wavered and had provided home loans to over 6,000 families through mortgage products. He said the Bank had identified residential estate financing and the provision of home loans as a strategic growth path over the next three years and advised the over 20,000 home savers and other account holders

By Kofi Ahovi Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited’s (GGBL) has commenced its renounceable rights issue to raise approximately GHc70 million by issuing 46.7 million ordinary shares of no par value at GHc1.50 per share. The offer, which will be in a ratio of 1 new share for every 3.5287 existing shares held, started on 17 October 2011 and its expected to close on 14 November 2011. The rights issue was approval by shareholders at the company’s Extra-ordinary General Meeting held in June 201. Pursuant to section 34 of the Companies Code 1963 (Act 179) and regulations 40(b) and 44(3) of the Ghana Stock Exchange Listing Rules, 2006 the Register of Members of GGBL will be closed to the general public on 30 September 2011 to 03 October 2011 (both days inclusive). The ex-rights and qualifying dates for the offer have been set for September 28 2011 and 30 September 2011 respectively. Only shareholders on the register of members of GGBL as at the close of business on September 30 2011 wil

The Dow Chemical Company yesterday announced that it will expand its operations in Africa by opening offices in Algeria and Ghana. This is directly in support of the Dow business strategy to multiply sales in the medium term. The new sales offices will complement existing Dow operations in Egypt, Kenya and South Africa, where the company has more than 50 years of operating history and employs more than 240 people “With a population of over 1 billion people, significant and consistent economic growth rates over the last 10 years and improved corporate governance and transparency, there has never been a better time to expand Dow’s focus and participation in Africa,” said Dow Chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris. “This expansion signifies Dow’s commitment to investing in the needs of growing regions to help our customers address tomorrow’s challenges today.’’ “For more than 50 years, Dow has been meeting the needs of consumers, industries and governments in Africa,” said Dow Africa Pr

Anglogold Ashanti (AGA) has announced an increase in its share capital. The issued ordinary shares of AGA increased from 381.6 million as at July 31, 2011 to 381.65 million as at August 31, 2011. This was as a result of the issue and listing of additional ordinary shares in August on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange, South Africa. By this arrangement, AGA share capital has also been increased from 45.98 million South African Rand to 45.99 million South African Rand at August, 2011. The shares were issued pursuant to AGA Share Incentive Scheme (August 2011) – 54,259 ordinary shares and Bokamoso ESOP Trust (August 2011) - 945 ordinary shares.

By Kofi Ahovi The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has launched manuals for the establishment and operation of petroleum products retail and Liquefied Petroleum Gas outlets in Ghana. The NPA believes that these materials will come in handy for both industry players and non-industry alike. Speaking at the launch, the acting Chief Executive of NPA, Alex Mould, said these booklets are testimony of the collaboration between the NPA and all other stakeholders all aimed at improving efficiency and environmental safety. “Recent explosion of LPG stations in Kumasi and Accra has called for an even closer collaboration with key stakeholders to ensure that the downstream is not only profitable but also safe,” he added. The Authority is by Act 691 of 2005 enjoined to regulate, oversee and monitor activities in the petroleum downstream industry; to establish a Unified Petroleum Price Fund a

By Kofi Ahovi Hudsonprice Data Solution Limited, a new credit reference bureau, has received Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) approval to commence operations, BusinessWeek has gathered. Hudsonprice becomes the second credit reference bureau in the country after XDS Data Ghana. Also expected to receive approval very soon is the Dun & Bradstreet Credit Bureau Limited. BoG gave the approval to Hudsonprice Data a fortnight ago after it met all the necessary regulatory requirements. Both Hudsonprice Data Solution Ltd and Dun& Bradstreet were given a provisional license some few months back to enable them adequately prepare the grounds for operations. The first credit reference bureau in Ghana and West Africa, XDS Data Ghana Limited, commenced operations two years ago. A credit bureau is a repository of credit information, a neutral entity that collates consumer credit information by soliciting creditors such as banks and other lending institutions to contribute and share their credit

By Kofi Ahovi LUKOIL Overseas Ghana Limited has sponsored 10 Ghanaian students to study various disciplines in oil and gas in Russia. LUKOIL and the Ministry of Energy signed a MOU after the parties had discussed implementation of a joint project encompassing exploration, appraisal, development and extraction of hydrocarbons at the Cape Three Points Deep Water block in the waters of the Gulf of Guinea. According to the document, Lukoil will organize studies for students at Russian oil and gas educational institutions at the request of Ghana’s Ministry of Energy. The first stage of the program will last for 5 years, starting in 2011. During this period, 50 students will complete their training, and then will be engaged in Lukoil projects in Ghana. Upon completion of the first stage of the program, the parties will consider the possibility of a 5-year extension of the program that would follow the same terms. Lukoil will be responsible for all organizational and financial issues

By Kofi Ahovi A staff team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), who visited the country a fortnight ago, have encouraged the government to continue its efforts to strengthen tax administration. The team also supported adoption of additional tax policy measures, particularly in the area of natural resources, where taxation is low in comparison with peer countries. Passage of new legislation to broaden the tax base will also be important. In a press statement from the Fund, the team led by Christina Daseking said Ghana’s priorities are sustainable management of the wage bill, strengthening of public financial management—where some reforms have taken longer than expected—and the regular adjustment of energy and other regulated prices to avoid costly subsidies and the need for large and disruptive adjustments in the future. A staff team, who visited the country between October 12 to 25, 2011 were in the country to conduct discussions for the fifth review of Ghana’s economic

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has signed an agreement with the Ghana Chamber of Mines and the Minerals Commission of Ghana to support the growth of businesses working in the mining industry. The objective of the agreement is to design and implement a local supplier development programme to build the expertise of local businesses working in the mining industry's supply chains, and promote Ghana as a leading African destination for mining investment. Bertha Moniba, Acting Country Manager of IFC, signed on behalf of the IFC whiles Joyce Aryee, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, signed on behalf of the Chamber and Ben Aryee, CEO of the Minerals Commission of Ghana signed for the Commission. The agreement was signed at a World Bank workshop in Accra to discuss a study on increasing local procurement by the mining industry in West Africa to ensure that mining contributes to sustainable economic

HFC Bank (Ghana), has once again donated various amounts of money to a wide spectrum of Ghanaian institutions towards promoting better health and education for the needy and the less privileged. Nine of the 23 beneficiary institutions this year received their cheques at a brief ceremony in Accra Thursday. Presentation to the 14 others preceded Thursday’s ceremony at separate events. The latest recipients included Akuapim Community Foundation, Accident Centre of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, National Partnership for Children’s Trust, HelpAge Ghana and SOS Ghana. The rest are the Students Financial Aid Office of the University of Ghana, Dworwulu Special School for the Intellectually Challenged, Ghana Heart Foundation and Catholic Action for Street Children. Mercy Mamle Tetteh, Company Secretary of HFC Bank, explained that the donations are done every year on behalf of shareholders as part of the Bank’s corporate social responsibility to the Ghanaian community. Recipients tha

By Kofi Ahovi Global Switch (G-Switch), Ghana’s leading independent inter-bank transaction switching and electronic payment processing firm, powered by Clydestone, has processed over 2.1 million ATM transactions for two of its member banks between January and August 2011. Fidelity Bank and Ezi Savings & Loans are currently on G-Switch’s ATM shared platform. The company provides transaction switching, third party processing and electronic fund transfer (EFT) hosting services to banks, Independent Service organizations (ISOs) and Microfinance institutions (MFIs). The platform operates a secure, real-time and regulatory compliant processing platform located in Accra, Ghana. Settlement of all G-switch local transactions is done through the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems Company (GhIPSS). According to a statement from G-Switch and signed by its Chief Executive Officer, Paul Jacquaye, the company is a global acquiring partner for China Union Pay (CUP), the world’s

HP has announced a significant local seizure of counterfeit printing supplies destined for HP printers. The company supported Ghanaian law enforcement officials who confiscated nearly 1,100 illegal items in a highly coordinated strike. The police action in May saw authorities raid retail outlets in the city center, seizing a total of 125 finished fake inkjet and 970 counterfeit ready-for-sale laser print cartridges intended for illegal use. Ghanaian officials detained six people associated with the counterfeiting operation. It’s expected that intelligence obtained during the raids will lead to additional anti-counterfeit actions. “HP appreciates the strong cooperation of Ghanaian law enforcement to help protect our customers from the inferior standards and potential risks of counterfeits,” said Adnane Besri, Laser & Enterprise Manager, Imaging and Printing Group, HP Africa. “People who buy counterfeit print cartridges and other fake merchandise believe mistakenly that they’re r