Business

Professor Stephen Adei, former Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) on Thursday noted that although the hotel industry contributed 10 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product, little attention had been paid to its development.

“State-owned hotels like the Ambassador, Atlantic and Continental have all collapsed and Ghana is now relying on private hotels which do not meet international standards,” he said.

Prof. Adei, who was speaking at the National Council meeting of the Ghana Hotels Association, therefore lauded private hoteliers for their contribution in generating both local and foreign income to support the development of the country.

“I urge you to work in unity and put your resources together, establish a co-operative bank that would enable you to have access to credit facilities to grow the industry.”

Prof. Adei called for excellent management practice and training of staff to raise the face of the industry in the country and tasked government to simplify taxes on hotels.

“It is time for the government to look on the SME in the hotel industry as national assets and come out with a comprehensive incentive package,” he said.

Nana Kofi Adjei Twinin , National President of the Association, said it was looking at human resource development and capacity building to ensure quality and efficient service delivery.

He said the industry would continue to work to meet the current service standards required by the Ghana tourist board.

“Currently the Association has submitted a proposal document for strengthening and harmonizing the operations of the hotels association,” Nana Twinin said.

Mr Martin Mireku, Executive Director, Ghana Tourist Board, said the promotion of tourism could not be effective without a committed and vigorous private and public partnership, adding, “there is the need for us to cooperate to achieve the excellence the industry is striving for.”

He said recent inspections carried out by the Board revealed poor kitchen hygiene, housekeeping and supervision, inadequate provision of mandatory furnishing and unskilled staff coupled with lack of professionalism.

Mr Mireku therefore urged hoteliers to keep to standards adding that, the tourism industry was dynamic.


Source: GNA

The Ghana Export Promotion Council (GEPC) is projecting a marginal growth rate of 19 per cent in non-traditional exports (NTE) this year because of the downturn in the global economy.

NTE exports have seen steady improvements in recent years with annual growth averaging 30 per cent, Mr Maxwell ***, Deputy Director Research, said on Thursday.

In 2007, exports of NTE crops reached an all time high of US$1.2 billion, bringing the sector’s contribution to 27.7 per cent of the country's total exports of 4.2 billion dollars.

The growth was achieved on the back of earnings from three main sub-sectors - agriculture, processed and semi-processed products and handicrafts. Cocoa paste, canned tuna, veneer, cocoa butter, sheanuts and pineapples are among the 10 leading NTE products

GEPC has projected a US$4 billion in NTE revenue by 2010 which, it hopes, to achieve through increased funding into the sector, particularly to expand supply capacity.

However, briefing a team of MBA students from Lagos State University on the role of GEPC in national development, Mr *** said the credit crunch was likely to dampen the performance of the sector this year and there was the need to concentrate on further developing the West African market.

The European Union and West Africa remained the major destination of NTEs,
accounting for 46.55 per cent and 31.36 per cent respectively of the exports, Mr *** said.

The leading markets include the United Kingdom, France, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Togo and United States.

Mr *** told the students that lack of infrastructure, access to credit and diversification of products remained major challenges to the development of the sector.

He said for the sector to make the desired impact access to long-term financing was critical to enable the exporters to build and develop niche market for their products.

Mr *** said government was addressing the finance issue through the Export Development and Investment Fund, Ghana Investment Fund, Venture Capital Fund and Exim Guaranty to provide the necessary finance to assist exporters.

There are over 383 different NTE export products categorized into agricultural, processed/semi-processed and handicrafts. The GEPC had a base of over 3,000 registered private sector exporting companies organized into 15 product associations.


Source: GNA

THE VICE President, John Dramani Mahama has said government will weigh all options available to the country before deciding on which strategy to adopt with regard to the stabilisation of the economy.

He said the National Democratic Congress (NDC) made a number of promises to Ghanaians during the electioneering campaigns and would strive to implement programmes that would be tailored towards meeting those promises. He said the Ghanaian electorate were wide awake on all promises the party made to them during the electioneering campaign so government must make sure to fulfill those promises since the electorate could no longer be taken for granted.

He said Ghana as a member of the global village was entitled to engage with the Bretton Woods institutions but would do so in a positive and constructive manner in collaboration with her bilateral partners so that together they can work to meet the demands and aspirations of the people.

The Vice President said these when the United States Ambassador called on him in his office at the Castle, Osu.

He said as a new government the President was fervently putting together his team and will soon come out with the state of the nation address so that collectively, all available skills, experience and resources will be mobilised to drive the Government’s agenda.

According to the Vice President, the government transition team will complete its work in February. The President will then present the state of the nation address and subsequently present his budget to Parliament which will outline the economic policy of the NDC administration.

On his part the US Ambassador, H.E. Donald Teitebaum applauded the maturity with which Ghana organised the just ended December 2008 polls.

He mentioned that the US government was prepared to put forward a team of experts to assist the new administration led by President Mills to find her feet and also fix some of the problems the transition team would identify.

The Ambassador said the US government and Ghana’s new administration had a lot in common because of the social ideological values shared by the two current and new administrations. He said the only differences between the two countries could probably be how each of them implements policies and programmes.

The Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF) has called on government to allow the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) to take over the core functions of classification and evaluation of imported goods.

This function was initially handled by CEPS but later ceded to Destination Inspection Companies (DICs) like the Gateway Services Limited (GSL) and Inspection and Control System (ICS) among others.

At a news conference in Tema yesterday, Stanley Ahorlu, Executive Secretary and Legal Advisor to GIFF explained that when CEPS takes over, it will provide a one-stop facility which will eliminate the frustration in dealing with the DICs.

He further explained that the aspect of classification and evaluation, which is the core function of CEPS and has now been handed to the DICs, is causing delays, complications and increasing cost of importing and processing goods at the ports of Ghana.

“The GIFF do not understand why CEPS’ core function should be handed over to the DICs”, Mr. Ahorlu noted, adding that towards the end of last year, CEPS had announced that “it would take over the classification and evaluation of imported goods and had indicated its readiness to do so.

“A new office facility for that purpose was built and publicly commissioned and giving our knowledge that the contracts of some DICs were to expire last year, we welcomed the idea and waited eagerly.

“Surprisingly, however, we’ve come to learn that the contracts of some DICs had been renewed by the previous government during its last days without an appraisal of their performance, without consultations with CEPS, shippers and freight forwarders and without any existing concerns regarding the negative impact of their performance on the cost of imported goods and government revenue.”

As key participants in Ghana’s international trade, GIFF members and the shippers they serve daily are vehemently opposed to the DICs continued classification and valuation of imported goods, he stressed.

The primary reason assigned for bringing in the DICs in the first place was that CEPS lacked the capacity to carry out classification and valuation of goods for duty purposes, however when the DICs were contracted, CEPS officers had to be seconded to them to assist them in classifying and valuing goods and to date, the DICs still operate with CEPS officers- a clear indication that they themselves lacked the capacity to function on their own, he complained.

Mr. Ahorlu further stated that given the fact that the DICs operate from Accra and not at the ports, accessing their services adds to the cost of the importers, complicates and delays the clearing process.

From Razak Mardorgyz Abubakar, Tema

IN AS much as people will like to buy their mobile phones from recognized dealers and shops, the new trend that is gaining currency in the industry is the sale of mobile phones on tables and even trays.

At about 8:30 am yesterday when CITY & BUSINESS GUIDE got to the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, the nerve centre of this new trade, business was briskly going on.

People were seen purchasing phones from these boys, some of whom told this paper that they make a daily sale of about GH¢1,000.

It was even more surprising to see some police officers who are supposed to be driving these people from the pavements, also buying phones from the dealers.

When this reporter approached one of these mobile phone dealers to purchase a phone, it was realized that a phone that would originally sell for GH¢200 was going for as low as GH¢80.

Upon investigations, it was revealed that some of these phones were stolen items, so they had to sell them at reduced prices, since most of them were slightly used.

In an interview with this paper, Steven Aboagye at JIC’5 Phones, at Circle, said the new practice which started over a year ago, is taking a toll on their business.

He explained that most of the phones and accessories that are being sold by these boys are not of good quality and since most people do not know the difference between a quality phone and an inferior one, they would prefer to buy from the boys, since theirs are cheaper.

He said the disadvantage associated with buying from the boys is that they are not located at one position so tracing them becomes a problem, in case there is a problem with a phone one purchases from them.

According Mr. Aboagye, the police on countless occasions have driven the boys from the pavements, but they resurface the next day to engage in their business.

He therefore advised buyers to try as much as possible to purchase phones from recognized shops so they can easily change the phones in case there is a problem with it after purchase.

Another mobile phone dealer, Isaac Osei Wusu who is stationed around the Ghana Telecom area at Circle, also attested to the fact that his shop is also feeling the effect of the businesses that the boys on the pavement are engaging in.

He stated that the situation is becoming very worrying, and called on the police to do its best to drive them from the pavements since they are operating without licence.

However, Michael Ampomaa who at the time of this interview had just 5 phones which he was selling in a tray, said he was introduced to the trade by a friend who also does the same business.

He added that selling phones in a tray is not his style, but he is doing so with the hope of opening his own shop one day.

He stated that he got all his supplies from a friend who buys them from China, so his phones are genuine and brand new.

He emphasised that the removal of import duties on mobile phones and fixed telephone sets, has encouraged many people to import a lot of handsets.

Asked why their phones are less expensive than those that are sold in the shops, Michael stated that the phones are sold on a “reduce to clear” basis, hence attracting more patronage.

He said this is to encourage people to buy more phones so that they can get in touch with their business associates and loved ones.

By Esther Awuah

VICE PRESIDENT John Dramani Mahama has indicated that government will institute measures to protect local traders from any undue competition that would be sparked off by foreign investors in the country.

He explained that government will do this by ensuring that certain foreign investors who have abandoned their core business of importing and wholesaling to usurp petty trading - the preserve of the indigenous people - are checked.

Addressing the Executive Committee of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) at the Osu Castle in Accra, Vice President Mahama mentioned that government would expedite action on the amended Ghana Investment Promotion Council (GIPC) code to be passed into law to ease the burden on local traders.

The Vice President said he was very much aware of the difficulties local traders go through to break even and would do everything within his capacity to bail them out.

He added that he had already initiated discussions with some foreign envoys who called on him to review the trade imbalance that exists between their countries and Ghana, in the interest of both parties.

He referred specifically to his discussion with the Chinese Ambassador on how best the trade imbalance between that country and Ghana could be rectified.

According to him, a lot of complaints have been made by local traders about the takeover of the local market by Chinese traders.

The Vice President stressed the importance of local trade to the country’s economy, saying Ghana could only grow to a middle income status if the local industry was supported to grow.

He stated that he had enough confidence in the new Minister of Trade and Industry to deliver and promote made-in-ghana goods.

George Ofori, President of GUTA, after congratulating the Vice President on his assumption of office, was of the conviction that the latter would use his youthful exuberance to push GUTA’s concerns for better attention.

Mr. Ofori pointed out that GUTA was not against foreign investors engaging in supermarkets and game shops but descending into domains such as petty trading, as that was detrimental to local entrepreneurship.

He added that owing to such activities of foreigners in the retail sector, landlords have been compelled to raise rent charges, making it impossible for the local entrepreneurs to compete.

Other GUTA executive members present at the event were Alpha Shabban, General-Secretary; Joseph Obeng, National Organiser; Augustine Oteng-***, member; George Djan, member and Joe Paddy, member.

By Wisdom Peter Awuku

ZAIN GHANA has dashed over GH¢100,000 worth of air time to its customers. This is to mark the end of the first week of the company’s “You Pay, Zain Pays’ bonus promotion.

The ‘promo’, which was announced on December 15, 2008 to introduced Zain and celebrate its entry into Ghana, is the first of its kind in the country’s telecommunications industry and is also being used to reward its first customers.

As part of the offer which is an automatic activated programme, customers receive whatever credit they spend in thirty days after buying a Zain sim card or convert a pre-registered number.
Though it is on a first-come-first-served basis, customers who qualify would enjoy the benefit for one year.

The marketing Director of Zain Ghana, Ransford Nyarko in a statement stated that the company’s main priority is to provide its customers with value for money.
The rewards of dashing credit to customers, he said, “is proof that we deliver on our promise”.

He used the opportunity to urge members of the public who have purchased Zain sim cards and have not activated them to start using it.

Zain, established in 1983 in Kuwait as the region’s first mobile operator, is a leading emerging markets player in the field of telecommunication   aiming to become one of the top 10 mobile operators in the world by 2011.

Since 2003, it has grown significantly to become the 4th largest mobile network in the world in terms of geographic presence with footprint in 22 countries spread across the Middle East and Africa providing mobile voice and data services to over 56.3 million active customers.

By Emelia Ennin Abbey

MERCHANT 2000 Limited, an oil marketing company, has indicated that it is dragging Frank Kyei, the Accra Area Sales Manager of Engen Ghana, to court for enticing it to buy a business plan which has plunged it into huge financial trouble.

According to the company, in a suit filed against Mr Kyei on December 20, 2008, it entered into a dealership arrangement with Engen Ghana Limited for the sale and marketing of petroleum and allied products. Prior to the execution of the agreement, Engen Ghana asked Merchant 2000 Limited to produce a business plan and a cash flow statement.

Mr Kyei clandestinely contacted Merchant 2000 and informed the outfit that Engen Ghana should ordinarily have assisted it to come out with the required business plan since it knew exactly what that should entail.

Consequently, the area sales manager mentioned to the plaintiff that he could prepare the business plan for a fee as a consultant since he has been doing it for other dealers of Engen Ghana.

He was asked to produce the business plan which was also submitted to Engen Ghana.

Mr Kyei further told Merchant 2000 that the service station was lucrative and could turn out huge profits.

However after operating the said business- Engen Ghana’s filling station at Adabraka, Accra, for a period of one year, the anticipated profits and projections contained in the business plan could not be achieved.

Rather, the plaintiff started sustaining huge losses.

The situation got so alarming that Mr Kyei and officials of Engen Ghana were made aware. But instead of finding an amicable way of solving the problem they threatened the plaintiff with the termination of the agreement and did same.

Merchant 2000 further said Mr Kyei failed to make a proper assessment of the financial viability of the business and take reasonable steps to ascertain the true state of the profitability of the business before presenting to it the business plan.

It therefore described the said business plan as false, untrue, inaccurate and misleading.

For the financial losses Mr Kyei has caused it to incur, Merchant 2000 has stated it is claiming specific damages to the tune of  GH¢20,000 from him for negligently misleading it.

By Samuel Boadi

Newmont Ghana Gold Limited (NGGL) has assured affected communities in its Ahafo mine area that it would pursue comprehensive policies to guarantee their health and safety.

Mr Dan V. Michaelsen, General Manager, Environment and Social Responsibility, gave the assurance at a press soiree organised by the company in Sunyani at the weekend.

More than 50 media practitioners attended the function.

Mr Michaelsen explained that Newmont regarded as very important, the health and safety of the people affected by the mine and would as such design laudable policies and programmes that would enhance their livelihood.

He said the company intended to inaugurate the Newmont Ahafo Secretariat this year to be in-charge of the disbursement of monies accruing to the Ahafo Community Development Fund.

The fund was established under the Ahafo Social Responsibility Programme to support Newmont’s sustainable development projects within the 10 communities the company’s operates.

Mr Michaelsen said Newmont was currently focusing on expanding the Ahafo South project by developing the Amoma pit.

He commended the media for supporting the company since the past five years in the region.

Mr Charles Koomson, Regional Chairman of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), said a good relationship existed between the association and the company and hoped it would continue.

He urged colleague journalists to focus on development issues that would help improve the livelihood of people in the region.

Mr Koomson, who doubled as the Regional Manager of the Ghana News Agency (GNA), also advised media practitioners to be more responsible and investigate all sides of issues before publishing.


Source: GNA

A new cocoa processing factory is to be established in the Western Region soon by the new government.

The setting up of the factory forms part of the new government’s policy to process at least 60 percent of the cocoa produced locally.  

The NDC Government, which gave the assurance in its manifesto, believes the move will also reduce the burden of transporting large quantities of cocoa beans to the ports and create employment opportunities outside the Accra-Tema Zone.

Ghana is one of the largest cocoa-growing countries in the world, second to Cote d’Ivoire. The country has traditionally exported almost its entire crop of cocoa beans for processing to foreign chocolate production plants.

This policy however changed in mid-2003 under ex-President John Agyekum Kufuor’s administration which sets the goal of broadening the Ghanaian cocoa business by investing in national cocoa processing facilities.

The immediate target of the former government was to process at least 40 percent of the annual cocoa crop of 500,000 tonnes (2004–2005 figures).

The Cocoa Processing Company Limited is mostly owned by the Ghanaian Government and the facility in Tema was chosen in early 2004 to be expanded as the first step of consolidating the cocoa business inside Ghana. The processing capacity of the existing plant was to be increased from 25,000 tonnes to 65,000 tonnes of cocoa beans a year.

A German company, MAN Ferrostaal AG, was commissioned in 2004 to expand the facilities of the Cocoa Processing Company Limited in Tema. The expansion of the cocoa processing facility was designed in two stages. The first phase included the system for processing cocoa beans into cocoa mass.

In the second phase, the beans are subjected to a thermal treatment under high pressure at a temperature of 220°C so that all bacteria are destroyed. The contract signed with the state is worth more than €20 million.

The new cocoa processing facility, which opened in October 2005, has a capacity of four metric tonnes per hour and is fully computer-controlled. This makes it the most advanced plant of its kind in Africa.

The installation and start-up of the new cocoa processing facility took about seven months. The first phase of the plant was inaugurated in October 2005 by President Kufuor.

In April 2007 the second construction phase was started. This comprises the modernisation of the original existing plant for further processing of cocoa mass into cocoa butter and cocoa powder.

 Apart from the Cocoa Processing Company, other companies namely Archer Daniels Midland Company, Afrotropic, International Firm Barry Callebaut, and West African Mills are already processing the commodity in the country.

Recently, Kazakh confectionery firm, Rakhat, has also secured a 10,000-tonne bean supply agreement with industry regulator COCOBOD to start producing cocoa liquor in Ghana.

Players in the cocoa industry welcomed the move by the new government to build a new cocoa processing facility in the heart of the cocoa processing area of the Western Region, noting that by locating the plant in the region, the government will be processing cocoa closer to the farmers and providing local jobs to the community.

NDC further pledged in its manifesto to increase the yield of cocoa to about 700 kilogrammes per hectare through better farm management.

“The NDC Government shall pay cocoa farmers at least 70 percent of the world market price of cocoa.  The 70 percent will not include the cost of cocoa diseases and pest control, cocoa roads, COCOBOD scholarships, hi-tech production and bonuses,” the

By Felix Dela Klutse

DR. Kwesi Botchwey, Ghana’s longest serving Minister for Finance and Economic Planning has called on Ghana’s politicians to be honest about the facts of the country’s economy, and stop the blame game.

The man who managed Ghana’s economy for 13 years from 1982 to 1995 says the matters which the World Bank Country Director, Ishac Diwan had put out in the economic outlook on Ghana recently is not a secret, the issues have been known, it has been in the public domain for a long time, he said.

Dr. Kwesi Botchwey made the remarks on TV3’s Current Affairs show, Agenda, Thursday January 15, 2009 and was monitored by ghanabusinessnews.com.

He argues that “it is not entirely correct that these issues have not been in the public domain. All the facts that the World Bank is putting out now have been known.”

Dr. Botchwey was dismayed that the debate about the economy has been politicized. “Unfortunately, these debates have been politicized, and it must be depoliticized,” he urged.

“Yes, there has been growth, I think that the NPP administration must be congratulated for stabilizing the macro-economic environment, it is true that interest rates came down, it is true that inflation came down, but it is also true that over the past year, especially, there have been deterioration and that must be admitted,” Dr. Botchwey stated.

According to Dr. Botchwey, “the deficit has grown, the national currency has depreciated, it is true that there was pressure on our external accounts, and there is pressure on imports and our international reserves have gone down.”

He said any professional who looks at the economic performance record of the past year would have to admit that there has been deterioration.

He referred to a lecture at the University of Ghana recently by a former Vice President of the World Bank, Dr. Gobind Nankani in which he pointed out these same issues in even gloomier pictures. He said even though, this was published by the Daily Graphic newspaper, there was never a national debate on the issue.

He also said these issues were outcomes of discussions the IMF had with the government.

He pointed out that the government is like an individual, and a person cannot live beyond what he or she earns unless someone gives you money or you borrow, but as a government you have to borrow money or print more currency.

As a country Ghana spends much more than it earns in revenue.

And from the facts and figures available, the country’s deficit has surged in the last year and it is poised to go up in 2009.

Dr. Botchwey advised that as a nation we need to discuss this debate dispassionately and leave the World Bank and IMF out. “There is not much sense in shooting the messenger.”

“Let’s ask ourselves, is what they are saying true? Forget who is saying it. Because these things have implications for the kind of policy mix we have to adopt for the next four years,” he said.

“Indeed, this new government, together with opposition would have to work together to find the right mix of economic policies,” he added.

Reminiscing on the economic history of Ghana when he was Finance Minister, Dr. Botchwey said, “most people today have forgotten what the economy was in 1982 when we started. People queued to buy uncooked kenkey, there were bush fires, most of the banks were bankrupt and inflation was running at 120%, we had large arrears of debt, we owed Nigeria almost $600 million of oil we had bought. One million Ghanaians were deported into Ghana from Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire at the height of the economic crisis.”

“Stabilizing the macro-economy was very important, at that time, balancing the budget and providing incentives for people to work,” he said.

He said “at that time the cedi was not convertible and we had to establish the interbank market, introducing the Forex Bureau, and capital market. We had to establish a new prudential environment for the banks to function. We also laid the foundation for liberal economic development in those years.”

In response to a recent report of the World Bank that the previous government spent more than they had earned, over 14% of GDP.

Indeed, inflation has risen to 18.1 percent as at December 2008.

Dr. Kwesi Botchwey, who once taught at Harvard Centre for International Development, now teaches at Tuft University, he teaches a course titled, Managing Economic Reform in Low Income countries.

On the recent elections which went into a run-off and created tension in the country, Dr. Botchwey said, “I have abiding faith in the good sense of Ghanaians. It was just a trifle kind of excitement, even though I worried that there would be some violence, but I’m glad we overcome the tension.”

“We can pat ourselves at the back that our institutions worked,” he added.

Dr. Botchwey who considers himself a consummate patriot said he would be keen on seeing how the country goes and he would be interested in offering advice when required, but thinks there are a lot of fresh talents and new faces around who should be given the opportunity to serve, “and we the old dogs sit in the background and offer advice,” he said.

Commenting on the global credit crunch, he disagreed with those who claim that Ghana’s economy is resilient and therefore, would not be affected.

He said Ghana would feel the effects if the downturn continues. He said remittances from Ghanaians abroad would go down, because if Ghanaians abroad lose their jobs, remittances would reduce, if there is less demand for Ghana’s exports, like gold, diamond bauxite, manganese and cocoa, that would affect the country’s export earnings.

Aid flows he said, would also be affected. He also warned that, if the recession eats deep into the industrialized world, access to loans would equally be affected, and so it is necessary to correct the macro-economic environment instead of blaming others.

On Ghana’s oil find, he said some people are behaving as if this is a huge bonanza that would solve all of the country’s problems. He said, “there have been new findings and therefore, the numbers should be revisited.”

“This”, he warned “is not a huge bonanza, in any case production is not going to start until 2010 and the reserves may be treated by 2030.”

According to him, “the estimates we have on a cumulative basis will be about $20 billion, about a billion dollars per year, which is 10 percent of the budget, and it is insignificant. It is not going to solve our problems, it might even aggravate our problems.”


Source: Gye Nyame Concord

NANA JUABENG-Boateng Siriboe, Chief Director of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, has reprimanded the African Development Bank (AfDB) for delaying the disbursement of funds for its funded projects in Ghana with outmoded procurement processes.

Speaking at the opening of a six-day national workshop on effective implementation of AfDB’s funded projects in Accra, the Chief Director said the bank’s current disbursement rate was so cumbersome it was stagnating the effective implementation of projects.

“Your institution’s procurement processes are very constraining and prohibiting project managers from carrying out their duties.”

Such a situation, he indicated, only accrued losses for the government since such funds had been contracted as loans on which commitments were expected to be paid.

While advocating that AfDB should free its processes, Nana Siriboe noted the major thrust of government’s policy was to achieve macro economic stability, develop infrastructure and modernize agriculture to ensure increased production and employment for sustainable poverty reduction, growth and development.

“The effective and efficient implementation of AfDB funded projects forms part of government’s overall development agenda towards the achievement of the broad economic objectives of the Millennium Development Goals. Therefore, any delays in the implementation would thwart government efforts aimed at ensuring growth and poverty reduction.”

Currently, AfDB’s active portfolio consists of 30 investment projects with a total commitment of US$877.03 million. Under its current XI funding project (2008 – 2010), it has earmarked a total of US$463.50 million to undertake various projects in Ghana.

Despite the bank’s continued channeling of huge resources into the agricultural sector, the road and social sectors are yet to receive considerable amounts of funding.

Also there have been reported issues of management inadequacies by project implementation units, recurring non-adherence to procurement and disbursement procedures, inadequate reporting, skewed correlation between activities stipulated in the project appraisal reports and the annual work plans of the projects.

Patrick Agbomah, Country Programme Officer, AfDB Ghana, in a remark acceded to the low disbursement rate of funds towards the bank’s funded projects in Ghana. Revealing 15 percent as the bank’s committed resources towards projects in Ghana, he said certain donor projects are not performing well as a result of the delayed approval of projects and also the lack of adequate staff for project implementation units (PIUs).

By Samuel Boadi