Kofi Ahovi

  Ghana has filed a response to the suit by the Italian oil giant Eni, at the International Tribunal in London, United Kingdom. Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame disclosed this but declined to give details . The response comes barely a three weeks after President Akufo-Addo assured of am amicable solution to the impasse. President Akufo-Addo gave the assurance on Friday when he met some chiefs in the Western Region at the Western Regional House of Chiefs during his tour of the region. ..I’m still very upset that at the end of day, the matter that we were having discussion on has become the subject of notice of arbitration,” Read also: Tamale Interchange project to open to traffic by December ..We should settle this matter and I will do my possible best to resolve it,” he  told the chiefs. Background Italian oil giant , Eni, last week  filed a suit at the International Tribunal in London, United Kingdom, to challenge a directive by Ghana’s Ministry of E...

  Gold exports receipts in 2020 increased to US$6.80 billion, from US$6.23 billion in 2019 on account of price increases, Bank of Ghana’s (BoG’s)2020 annual report has stated. The report said the gold price increase was due to a strong investor appetite for the metal arising from the safe-haven status it enjoys in times of economic and political uncertainty. The economic disruptions caused by COVID-19 influenced the price of gold, as investors rebalanced their portfolios. Read also: Russia on track to become world’s top gold producer by 2029 – report According to the report, the average realised price increased by 27.2%, to US$1,764.16 per fine ounce, while the volume of gold exported decreased by 14.2% to 3,854,012 fine ounces in the review year. Crude oil exports Crude oil export receipts declined by 35.2 per cent in the review year. Total export receipts in 2020 was US$2.91 billion compared to US$4.49 billion in 2019. The volume of crude oil exported declined by 3.7%, to 67...

  For the first time in about 60 years, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has purchased gold to augment its gold reserves and shore up the country’s foreign assets. The bank bought 280 kilogrammes of the precious metal this year under a historic gold purchase programme meant to double its gold reserves and supplement the traditional ways that the country has built reserves over the years. It has since set aside GH¢200 million to be used to purchase 540kg of gold produced domestically this year. Although gold purchase is a critical component of central banking across the world, the          BoG only returned to the business this year after exiting it around 1961. Read also: BoG to purchase gold from local market It now aims to buy more than 17,500kg — about 17.54 tonnes — of the precious metal in the next five years. Giving an update on the programme which took off in June this year, the Director of the Financial Markets Department at the BoG, Dr S...

  Mining firm AngloGold has announced plans to resume underground operations at its Obuasi gold mine by the middle of October. A statement issued by the mining giant on Thursday said for the remainder of this year, underground ore will be used only to replenish the Run-of-Mine stockpile. The statement said gold production from its underground ore sources will however resume in January 2022. The safe ramp up to the full mining rate of 4,000 tons per day is expected to be achieved by the end of the first half of 2022,” the statement said. The mining firm says it expects production of 240,000-260,000 ounces of gold for 2022 as the mine ramps up production. Read also: Gold output from large-scale mining sector up six percent for 2019 This will increase to 320,000-350,000 ounces a year from the fourth quarter of 2022 until the completion of the third phase of the project to re-develop Obuasi in the fourth quarter of 2023. Afterwards, between 2024 and 2028, production is anticipated to a...

  President Akufo-Addo has appointed Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng, a lawyer and investment banking expert with over 20 years’ experience in the corporate world, as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF). Koranteng takes over from Yaw Baah, a former Member of Parliament (MP) for Kumawu in the Ashanti Region, who was appointed chief executive of the MIIF in 2019. The Minerals Income Investment Fund is a state institution created by an act of Parliament, the Minerals Income Investment Fund Act 2018 ( Act 978 ). This law authorises the establishment of a fund to manage the equity interests of the Republic of Ghana in mining companies, to receive mineral royalties and other related income due Ghana from mining operations, and to provide for the management and investment of the fund’s assets. Special-purpose vehicle Edward Koranteng comes to office after an initial attempt by the Akufo-Addo government to realise the objectives set out in th...

  Zoomlion Ghana Limited (ZGL) has underscored the need to sustain the monthly airports’ disinfection exercise against the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19). According to the waste management company, this was very crucial because the year was gradually inching to an end, which situation normally sees loads of business people and holiday makers travel in and out of the country. A Senior Vector Control Unit Officer of Zoomlion, Enoch Mintah, made the call while speaking to the media on the sidelines of this month’s (September) disinfection exercise at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) on Tuesday, September 28, 2021. As part of efforts to prevent imported Covid cases from spreading into the communities, the government, in collaboration with Zoomlion, has been undertaking monthly disinfection operation in all the country’s airports. Mintah said there was no denying the fact that the airports monthly disinfection operation has helped in curbing the spread of the virus. ….and to...

  The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) has hinted that it will be undertaking steps to relook at the Ghana Alternative Exchange (GAX) to make it more attractive for potential companies to list. The Managing Director of the GSE, Ekow Afedzie who made this known said, “we will redefine it to add new value preposition to attract new companies.” Speaking to journalists at a day’s forum organized by the Institute of Financial Journalist (IFEJ) in collaboration with the GSE in Accra on Tuesday September 28, 2021, Afedzie admitted that the GAX has not performed to expectation hence the need to review it to make more appealing. So far 6 SMEs are listed on the GAX.   Ekow Afedzie, Managing Director -GSE Despite the proven benefits of listing on an exchange, SME's still shy away from being listed. This is because most owners of SME's are not willing to bring on board shareholders who would be legally referred to as owners of a company they didn't start, and above all make decisions for th...

  Coca-Cola today unveiled a new global brand philosophy and platform called Real Magic, which invites everyone to celebrate the real magic of humanity.  The platform refreshes the brand’s trademark promise – to unite and uplift people every day – with renewed relevance for the world we live in today. The platform is built from lessons of the last 18 months: that we can find magic all around us when we come together in unexpected moments that elevate the everyday into the extraordinary. It also acknowledges the many contradictions experienced as new generations find harmony and human connection in a virtual and divided world. Coca-Cola is a brand defined by dichotomies: humble but iconic, authentic yet secret, real yet magical,” said Manolo Arroyo, Chief Marketing Officer for The Coca-Cola Company.  “The Real Magic philosophy is rooted in the belief that dichotomies can make the world a more interesting place – a world of extraordinary people, unexpected opportunities and...

  The 2Africa consortium, comprised of China Mobile International, Facebook, MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, stc, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone and WIOCC, announced today the addition of a new segment – the 2Africa PEARLS branch – extending to the Arabian Gulf, India, and Pakistan. This extension will bring the total length of the 2Africa cable system to over 45,000 kilometers, making it the longest subsea cable system ever deployed. Now connecting three continents, Africa, Europe and Asia terrestrially through Egypt, 2Africa creates unique connectivity by adding vital landing locations in Oman (Barka), UAE (Abu Dhabi and Kalba), Qatar (Doha), Bahrain (Manama), Kuwait (Kuwait), Iraq (Al-Faw), Pakistan (Karachi), India (Mumbai), and a fourth landing in Saudi Arabia (Al Khobar). The new 2Africa branch joins recently announced extensions to the Canary Islands, the Seychelles, Comoros Islands, Angola, and a new landing to south-east Nigeria. As with other 2Africa cable landings, capacity will be ...

  For the second year in a row, MTN Group has been named the most valuable African brand in the Brand Finance Africa 150 rankings, which assigned the group a brand value of US$2.7 billion – US$1.0 billion above the next most valuable brand. A report on the 2021 survey’s findings states that “ the telecoms giant dominates on home soil too, this year holding onto its decade-long reign as South Africa’s most valuable brand ”. Brand value is defined as the “net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market”. Brand Finance Africa said the value of the continent’s top 150 brands fell by a combined US$5.5 billion in 2021, largely because of the COVID-19 pandemic creating uncertainty and impacting brands’ ability to do business as usual. In 2020, it had assigned MTN a brand value of US$3.3 billion. MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita said the latest accolades were achieved thanks to the hard work of MTNers across the continent and their commitment...

  Nigeria - Andela , the global network for remote engineering talent, today announced $200 million in Series E financing that values the company at $1.5 billion. The round was led by Softbank Vision Fund 2 with participation from new investor Whale Rock and existing investors including Generation Investment Management , Chan Zuckerberg Initiative , and Spark Capital . Lydia Jett, Founding Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers and one of the most respected consumer technology investors in the world, will join Andela’s Board of Directors. Andela helps companies build remote engineering teams by providing them with access to the best software engineers in the world. Launched in Africa in 2014, the Andela network today represents engineers from more than 80 countries and six continents. Through Andela, thousands of engineers have been placed with leading technology companies including Github , Cloudflare and ViacomCBS .  Andela has always been the high-quality option for th...

  Rice farmers in Kajebi in the Oti region have been given some respite regarding the acquisition of agricultural machinery. The farmers have been urged to at least make an initial half payment of the total cost of agricultural machinery including tractors and power tillers that they will need to boost production. Each of these machines cost between GHC24,000 and GHC31,000. The relief package was announced by the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto on Tuesday, September 27, 2021, when he paid a working visit to rice farms in Kajebi and also interacted with the farmers. The respite followed an appeal by the rice farmers to the sector minister to be given the machinery on credit. In addition to the half payment, the minister asked the rice farmers to write a letter through the Kajebi District Director of Agriculture for the machines to be given to them on credit. The visit formed part of the minister’s phase two agricultural tour of farms in the Oti region. On th...

  The Chairman of the Manipal Health Enterprises Pvt Ltd (MHEPL), Dr Sudarshan Dr Ballal, has said that current projections of heart diseases were a wakeup call for all and sundry to adopt a healthy lifestyle. He said that currently heart diseases are common across all age groups including people in their 30s or 40s and said the primary reasons are stress, lack of exercise, and unhealthy food habits, apart from excessive smoking and drinking. He cited that India was currently witnessing nearly two million heart attacks a year and majority of the victims are youngsters, which is not a healthy trend. Compared to the West, Indian’s experience heart failures early and therefore it is recommended to modify lifestyle at an early age. Keeping cholesterol levels under check and undergoing regular health check-ups are the key to maintain a healthy lifestyle,” Dr Ballal said during a virtual international workshop on World Heart Day. The MHEPL, organised the workshop in collaboration with th...

  The government has initiated processes to acquire a new and bigger aircraft for presidential use in addition to the existing French-built Dassault Falcon 900 EX-Easy aircraft, acquired during President John Agyekum Kufuor’s era in 2007 but was delivered for use in 2010. The Minister of Defence, Mr Dominic Nitiwul is handling the processes and expected to announce details later on. The Director of Communications at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin gave the hint at a press briefing at the Jubilee House on Monday evening (September 27). “Government is already in the process of acquiring a bigger jet for use.” The Minister of Defence has made it clear that government has decided to buy a bigger jet to save us from all these troubles. I wouldn't want to go into details. I am sure when the Minister of Defence has the opportunity he will do that," Arhin said. Arhin was answering a question on whether the government intended buying a bigger aircraft to accommodate the President and his ...

  The government is developing a standardised fee system for all public institutions to charge people seeking access to information under the Right to Information (RTI) Law, the Ministerof Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has announced. According to him, the absence of a unified fee system was one of the challenges facing the implementation of the RTI Law, for which reason the government was working on a proposal which would soon be laid before Parliament for consideration. “I am aware of one review application that has been occasioned by disagreement over fees and charges. A proposal on the fees and charges has been submitted to the Ministry of Finance and will soon be presented to Parliament,” he said. Mr Oppong Nkrumah announced this at Ghana’s commemoration of the International Day for Universal Access to information (IDUAI) in Accra yesterday. Universal Access to Information Day The event was organised by the RTI Commission, the statutory body mandated to safeguard the right ...

  The Bank of Ghana’s updated Composite Index of Economic Activity (CIEA) for July 2021 reflected continued recovery in domestic economic activity. According to the Central Bank, the real CIEA recorded a 20.0% year-on-year growth in July 2021, compared with 20.2% in June 2021, and 3.9% growth in July 2020. The growth in the indicators the Central Bank said were somewhat broad-based with port activity, imports, domestic VAT, and air-passenger arrivals accounting for the increase. Read also: Value of reported fraud cases reach GHs1 bn in 2020 – BoG But the Ghana Purchasing Managers Index fell in August 2021 mainly on the back of rising input costs. The decline in the Purchasing Managers Index, according the Bank of Ghana, was consistent with the results of the Bank’s latest confidence surveys, conducted in August 2021, and which indicated some softening of business sentiments. The survey results revealed the inability of businesses to meet their short-term company targets driven by h...

  The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has said that it is working to phase out the one Ghana cedi and the two Ghana cedi notes from circulation. The Governor of BoG, Dr Ernest Addison, said on Monday (September 27) that the notes will ultimately be replaced by their coin versions, which were currently co-circulating. He said the decision was needed to improve the bank's cost of currency management. Dr Addison told journalists on Monday that the central bank had realised that it was not cost effective to keep the two sets of notes in circulation, as they mostly returned dirty and worn out, requiring frequent replacements. He was responding to a question on why the two cedi note was in short supply in some parts of the country during the bank's Monetary Policy Committee press conference. In the long run, the plan is that the one and two cedi notes should be phased out. They are not cost-effective." Read also: We've managed the cedi better – Dr. Bawumia They mostly return torn, soil...

  Despite concerns that the cost of loans is very high, average lending rate fell by 0.11% from June 2021 to 20.51% in August 2021. This is equivalent to 1.71% interest on loans per month. As always, the average lending rate varies among the banks and the risk associated in lending to the respective sectors. For example, some banks will offer loans as low as 16% per annum, whilst others will lend as high as 27%. But overall, it will depend on the risk profile of the customers. Also, lending to the agriculture sector is considered riskier than the manufacturing sector, and therefore credit to the agriculture sector will be higher. According to data from the Bank of Ghana, average lending rate has been falling albeit slightly, since April 2021. In January 2021, average lending rate was pegged at 20.97%, but shot up marginally to 21.02% in February 2021, and then retreated to 20.96% in March 2021. It has since then been falling from 20.93% in April 2021 to 20.85% in May 2021 and then ...

  The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) has stated that the government would soon import machinery to boost rice production and other agricultural yields in the country. These agriculture machines are expected to be purchased from Brazil and India. This came to light when the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, visited the Global Africa Development Company (GADCO), a rice farm and processing factory at Fievie in Sogakope in the Volta Region on Sunday. He is in the Volta Region for a two-day working visit—Sunday, September 26 to Monday, September 27, 2021. The visit constitutes the phase two of his ministry’s tour of farms and ongoing projects in the region. According to the minister, it was his expectation that by the year 2023-2024, Ghana will be agriculturally stable, especially in rice production. He noted that comparing local rice to foreign rice, the former was nutritious and delicious than the latter. I am very excited at what I have seen at GADCO ...

  Vodafone Ghana is supporting over 50 Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) with free premium-grade websites in the month of September. In addition, enterprises will be provided with digital channels to make their services more accessible to a wider audience, ultimately accelerating customers and revenue. In a release issued by the company on Tuesday, it said the move was to provide holistic support to SMEs nationwide and empower businesses to leverage on technology to deliver modern offerings to boost their businesses during the SME month celebration. The Director of Vodafone Business, Tawa Bolarin said explained that every year, her outfit dedicates a month to recognise, appreciate, reward and engage with our esteemed business customers who are uniquely positioned to be the backbone of the Ghanaian economy. In the spirit of partnering together, we have designed propositions, which will enable growth for the businesses of our customers through a series of initiatives,” she ad...

  The Central Bank has maintained the policy rate, the rate at which it lends to commercial bank, at 13.5% again. It explained in its Monetary Policy Committee report which was released today that “considering the fairly balanced risks to inflation and growth in the outlook of the economy, the Committee decided to keep the policy rate at 13.5%”. According to the report, two readings since the last MPC meeting showed significant increase in headline inflation from 7.8 percent in June 2021, to 9.0 percent in July, and further up to 9.7 percent in August, closer to the upper limit of the medium-term target band. Read also: Ghana: Lending rates begin to fall The upward trajectory of inflation was mainly driven by a surge in food prices over the period. Food inflation increased from 7.3 percent in June to 9.5 percent in July, and then to 10.6 percent in August 2021. Non-food inflation also rose marginally from 8.2 percent, 8.6 percent, and then 8.7 percent over the same comparative mont...