At the end of the recently concluded three-day National Economic forum (NEF) held at Senchi near Akosombo, the delegates came up with twenty-two action points which were tagged ‘the Senchi Consensus’. One of the points in the Senchi consensus that I think should be given immediate attention if we are serious about moving forward in this country is point number eighteen (18) on the consensus list. It states that: ‘‘For the purposes of encouraging high national productivity, government, labour

Rev. Prof. John Pobee, a newly-inducted member of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS), has said Ghana must strive to build a just, participatory, and sustainable society that also values truthfulness. Speaking at his inaugural lecture in Accra on “Truth and Nation-state Building: A Theologian's Perspective”, the respected academic and former associate director for the humanities programme at the University of Ghana asked politicians to be truthful in their dealings with the citizenry. “Politics

Prof. Mrs. Esi Awuah, Vice-Chancellor-University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) in Sunyani, says the failure of Ghana to train the requisite human resource for effectivemanagement of the abundant natural resources has over the years denied the country its fair-share of benefit from minerals production. She said: “Because we don’t have enough resource enterprise entrepreneurs, the country always opts for royalty agreements in negotiating mineral resources contracts. This creates a

About 460,000 metric tonnes of fish are imported into the country annually, Minister in charge of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development Mr. Nayon Billi-Jo has said. The per capita consumption of fish in the country is estimated to be about 25 kgs per annum, and according to the minister the fishing industry is one that government wants to harness and grow. He said 75 percent of the total domestic production of fish is consumed locally. The minister made this statement when a Mauritius delegation

A new Factories, Offices, and Shops law has been developed and will be presented to cabinet at the end of the month for consideration and onward submission for Parliament to pass into law. The new law has been expanded to cover the construction, mining, agriculture and all the sectors of the economy to ensure the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) of workers. The Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Nii Armah Ashietey, said this in a speech read on his behalf in Accra at a stakeholders

Barclays has been named the winner of Best Credit Card Product in Africa award for the year 2014 at The Asian Banker’s first annual Middle East and Africa Awards Ceremony. The awards ceremony was held at the Ritz Carlton, DIFC, Dubai last month. As economies expand and people become wealthier across Africa, the demand for travel is increasing at a rapid pace especially among affluent segment customers. To meet customer needs, Barclays last year launched its Worldmiles programme for its Platinum

Somotex Ghana Limited, sole distributor of LG Electronics in Ghana and a subsidiary of the Mohinani Group of Companies, has launched the LG OLED TV-- the world’s first curved TV, onto the Ghanaian market. The advanced Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) TV is equipped with incredible picture quality, stunning design and innovative technologies. The TV was unveiled at Movenpick Ambassador Hotel, Accra last Thursday. The event was graced by industry leaders, celebrities among others. At the launch

Banking reforms aimed at preventing another financial crisis have failed to make enough progress, the boss of the International Monetary Fund has warned. IMF managing director Christine Lagarde blamed a combination of the complexity involved, industry lobbying and "fatigue" for the delay. "The industry still prizes short-term profit over long-term prudence," Ms Lagarde said at a conference on the future of capitalism. She said inequality was "an issue" too. Speaking

Twenty Indian-based schools have taken the initiative to sponsor an Information Technology (IT) project at the Ghana Technology University College (GTUC). The Indian High Commissioner to Ghana, K. Jeeva Sagar, revealed this when he delivered the university’s sixth Prestigious Lecture at its campus in Accra. He said the project will begin in the course of the year. “India has a strong Information Technology (IT) base, which is made up of 26,000 schools. Twenty of these schools have taken it upon

mp-tec, a solar equipment company, and the German Energy Agency (dena) have inaugurated a €90,000 solar facility on the campus of Accra Polytechnic. The German solar system integrator, which was constructed in two weeks, has five photovoltaic systems comprising two ground-mounted systems, a solar back-up system, a solar pump and a solar street light system. The facility was part of dena’s solar educational trail, which falls under its worldwide Renewable Energy Solutions Programme coordinated

An ultra-modern library has been opened on the first floor of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MoFEP) in Accra to aid the research work of the ministry. The facility is a joint project by MoFEP, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the German Development Cooperation (GIZ). The project is part of GIZ’s continued support to tax administration and tax policy reforms within its Good Financial Governance (GFG) programme. The GFG Programme is funded by SECO and the

Banks are being muscled-out by government in the race for deposits, as savers and investors are increasingly drawn to Treasury bills which pay lucrative interest rates, says Managing Director of Societe Generale Ghana Gilbert Hie. Record budget deficits and the continuous steep fall of the cedi have doubled yields on government debt since 2012, creating a situation in which the state is crowding-out every other entity in the market for funds. From 4 percent of GDP in 2011, the public deficit has

The farmlands of the Accra Plains will soon benefit from a US$64million gravity-based irrigation canal to help boost agricultural production in the region. Under a public-private partnership (PPP) with private sector investors, the 69.8 kilometre facility will feed about 11,000 hectares of farmland that will be developed under the Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project (GCAP). GCAP is a US$145million five-year project for the development and expansion of commercial agriculture. The United States Agency

President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) Mr. James Asare-Adjei is calling for a holistic review of the law governing operations of free-zone companies to allow indigenous companies benefit from the concept. Speaking to B&FT in an interview in Accra, he said for the concept to achieve its core objective -- which is to ensure an export-driven economy -- local companies must be allowed to access the incentives provided by the free-zones concept to make them more competitive to produce

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has been asked to intensify its monitoring of activities in the microfinance industry to get rid of companies that do not meet standards. Last year, 50 of the over-700 microfinance institutions operating in the country collapsed -- affecting clients who lost their investments. The collapse of these companies was the outcome of various processes that did not go well and not necessarily a one-time event, according to Dr. Boakye-Yiadom, a microfinance management expert and CEO