Kofi Ahovi

By Kofi Ahovi The latest Bank of Ghana credit conditions survey shows a general net tightening of credit conditions. With the exception of consumer credit which saw some easing, the credit stance for all other loan types including SMEs, large enterprises, short and long term loans were tightened in the first four months of this year. Annual growth in private sector credit slowed to 28.7% in nominal terms at the end of March 2013, from 44.6% in March 2012. Similarly, annual growth of real private sector credit was 17.6% in March 2013, down from 32.9% in March 2012. Meanwhile the banking sector recorded strong performance in the first four months of the year, with increased competition, asset growth, improved liquidity and profitability. Total assets of the banking industry increased to GH¢29.6 billion at the end of April 2013, compared with GH¢23.2 billion in April 2012. This was driven mainly by advances, which accounted for 42.5% of the total. The asset growth was funded by dep...

By Kofi Ahovi Dwadifo Adanfo, a microfinance institution in the country, has instituted a customer appreciation day to honour its loyal customers. The customer appreciation day is an annual event to be celebrated every second Friday of June. The event is part of efforts to ensure that Dwadifo Adanfo gains competitive edge by maintaining superior customers. This year’s event was dubbed “The customer: our partner, our friend”. Launching the event, the CEO of Dwadifo Adanfo, Charles Amonoo, explained that the main objective of the event “is to recognize, honour and appreciate all loyal customers for continuously and consistently transacting business with the company” As part of activities to mark the day, the company organized special customer service training for all its front liners to ensure that they provide superior customer services to both prospective and existing customers. The company is focused on providing indigenous financial assistance, business transformational prog...

By Toma Imirhe Those who thought that government’s public wage bill travails could not get worse, after contributing an unanticipated GH¢1.9 billion to a record high fiscal deficit in 2012 must be having a rethink. The situation, over the past few months has indeed got worse, with teachers, then university lecturers and now doctors, going on strike, one after the other, demanding yet unpaid allowances or salary arrears as the case may be. While it normally would be easy to empathize with government over the somewhat opportunistic nature of the way those essential public service providers have gone about demanding for their dues, any such sympathy has definitely been severely muted by recent revelations that government recently released some GH¢47 million in end of service benefits for Members of Parliament in the previous legislature’s tenure, even as it protested that it did not immediately have the cash to settle owed teachers and doctors. But government’s incongruity has taken...

By Kofi Ahovi British Airways is promoting its USA routes to remind its customers, including potentials ones, of the unique connections it offers from UK to the USA as well as other destinations. Passengers from Ghana travelling to the USA or other destinations are treated to a world class service before, on board and after using British Airways flights. British Airways is one of the world's largest international airlines carrying approximately 36 million passengers around the world every year. It operates nine flights a day from New York JFK to London. This includes seven to London Heathrow and two flights to London City on a business class only service. This is in addition to the two daily Newark to London Heathrow flights. Terminal 7 is home to BA’s operations at New York JFK airport as well as other airlines. It spans 535,000 square feet, serving five million departing and arriving passengers per year. In addition to handling its own flights British Airways also offe...

Professor Naana Jane Opoku- Agyemeng, Minister of Education on Tuesday said Government welcomes discussions on the need for a Council for Higher Education and Research solely dedicated to the core business of Universities and Research institutions in Ghana. “As Higher Education institutions, your core mandate is to address the problems of the nation through research in order to find well thought out solutions for national development”, she said. She said the establishment of colleges of education, elevation of colleges and Nursing Institutions as well as Polytechnics to tertiary status; the development of private universities and other tertiary institutions, necessitate a review of the mandate and operational range of the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE). The Minister made the remarks at the First Ghana France Higher Education Conference being held in Accra. The three day conference, which was opened by the Minister of Education and Mr Fredric Clavier, French Ambassa...

Emmanuel Armah Buah, Minister of Energy and Petroleum has set up a committee of inquiry to investigate allegations of impropriety at the Accra Plains and Kumasi depots of the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation company (BOST). A press statement issued by the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum in Accra said the eight member committee was inaugurated on Tuesday at the Ministry. “The Minister said the move has become necessary following the incessant allegations of irregularities at the afore-mentioned depots and to ensure optimum efficiency in the transportation of fuel products” it noted. It said the committee would be chaired by Mrs Clothilde Akosua Agbenorto of the National Petroleum Authority and has Ms Dorothy Afriyie Ansah of the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General Department, Mr Kweku Agyemang Duah of Oil Marketing Companies and Mr Nii Lante Blankson of the Bureau of National Investigations as members. The others are Mr Erasmus Asamoah, Mr Andrews Owusu Berfi, Mr Ignatiu...

Ghana continues to be ahead of other countries in the mining sector in the West Africa region. Ghana produces more gold than any country in the West African sub-region Dr. Toni Aubynn has said Speaking on the sidelines at the Ghana Mining Summit 2013 in Accra, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Dr. Aubynn said that, associated with producing more gold than any country in the sub-region, Ghana has mined minerals for much longer time than any country in the sub-region and this is what makes Ghana lead in mining. In spite of the current fall of gold prices on the world market, the mining sector still contributes the highest tax revenue for the Ghana government and has employed over 28,000 in the large scale and an estimated over one million people in the legal small scale mining sector. Dr. Aubynn underscored the importance of the summit saying it provides opportunity for players in the mining industry both in Ghana and abroad to think about mining. “The id...

As from July 1, 2013, consumers of petroleum products especially petrol and diesel in Ghana will bear the full cost of buying these products. Speaking on the sideline at the Institute of Financial and Economic Journalists (IFEJ) and Ghana Business and Finance media seminar on fuel subsidy for journalists in Accra Tuesday June 18, 2013, the Head of Pricing at the National Petroleum Authority, Mrs. Alpha Okaidja Welbeck revealed that, “government has allowed us to price on full cost on petrol and diesel”. Pre-mix fuel, marine gas oil local, kerosene, residual fuel used by industries will however remain subsidized, she added. Last year, President John Mahama, at that time the Vice President, said that government needed GH¢760 million to continue subsidizing fuel annually, an amount he said could be used to undertake development projects across the country. He also said government was battling with an outstanding $80 million debt that was incurred as a result of subsidizing petroleum pr...

The decline in international gold prices in the first quarter of 2013, combined with the high cost of operations, is leading companies to review their work plans and cut operating costs, says Daniel Owiredu, President of the Ghana Chamber of Mines. Spot gold has fallen by 17.2 percent this year, and the country’s output of the mineral dipped by 3 percent in the first three months of the year. This could lead miners to “either reconsider or downsize projects”, though investments at an advanced stage are likely to be continued, Mr. Owiredu said. Ghana’s gold production fell to 1.083 million ounces in the first quarter of the year, down by some 30,000 ounces from the last quarter of 2012, according to Bloomberg, citing data from the Minerals Commission. Gold is the country’s main source of foreign exchange income, which helps the Central Bank to accumulate reserves to supply to importers seeking to buy goods from abroad. The gold industry, categorised into large-scale and small-...

Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Shippers Authority Dr. Kofi Mbiah says the Authority is in the process of streamlining various charges at the ports as a way of doing away with “illegitimate” charges, with the passage of the new GSA Regulation L.I. 2190. He explained “illegitimate charges” to be those fees that service providers demand from importers and exporters in order to fast-track transactions. “The new regulation is GSA’s way of addressing the issues of unauthorised fees and charges billed to importers and exporters at the ports, in order to drastically reduce their cost of doing business at the port while making them more competitive.” He said the Authority is currently in engagements with service providers, and that once negotiations are concluded the fixed charges will be publicised -- which the providers will be expected to comply with. Speaking to the B&FT in an interview on the sidelines of a maritime seminar in Accra, Dr. Mbiah said the new regulation allo...

In a far-flung African village, when an 80-year-old grandmother wants to send and receive cash, she simply registers for mobile money with a service provider. If she wants to pay for services or transfer money to someone in another village, she goes to an agent and pays the desired amount, which is loaded onto her "account". The recipient can then withdraw the money from an agent in their village. Mobile Money today represents a fundamentally transformational opportunity to connect billions of people to the formal and informal economy, the unbanked and banked citizens of the world. According to GSMA’s Mobile Economy 2013 report, globally, more than 2.5 billion adults do not have access to a formal bank account and are not able to access basic financial services in order to save, borrow or transact. However, the report goes on to state that the increasing levels of mobile penetration (there are 3.2 billion mobile phone users worldwide) presents a significant opportunit...