Hundreds of residents of Kumasi Thursday took part in a demonstration against the sale of Merchant Bank to Fortiz.The protest march was organised by the Public Action Against Corruption and Abuse (PAACA), a pressure group. The demonstrators, clad in red and black, and holding placards, sang and danced as they marched through the streets, casting aspersions on the government. Some of the placards read “We need our Merchant Bank now”; “SSNIT contribution not for sale”; “Ghana workers are suffering”; and “Boys Abre enso yenti gyae”  The protestors started their march from the Asem Park, near the Prempeh Assembly Hall, and went through the Roman Hill, Kejetia, Adum and finally to the Ridge Park, where their leaders addressed them. An altercation between the police and the demonstrators who decided to change their route from the originally approved one nearly marred the otherwise peaceful demonstration. Addressing the group, Mr Sammy Awuku, who is contesting the National Youth Organiser position of the  New Patriotic Party (NPP), called on the people of Ashanti in particular, and Ghanaians in general, to kick against what he called the bad governance of the John Mahama-led administration. He also called for the rejection of the capitation grant that is being piloted by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) in the Ashanti Region for two years now. Mr Ernest Owusu Bempah, the Deputy Communications Director of the National Democratic Party (NDP), claimed that the capitation exercise had resulted in untold hardships among the people of the region and called on them to resist its continuation. Other speakers addressed the crowd.

Government’s short-term borrowing costs are picking up again as a disturbing combination of surging inflation, a tumbling currency and the prospect of the budget deficit exceeding the target drive down investor sentiments. The cost of 91-day borrowing rose for a sixth straight week to 19.62 percent on January 24, when the last auction of the bills was held. The yield on the debt rose nearly one percentage point in the six-week period, reaching its highest since November 1. The yield on 182-day bills also increased for four straight weeks since December 27 to 19.44 percent on January 24. Yields on one- and two-year debt, which have more or less stabilised, as well as bond yields may also pick up as the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) attempts to engineer a downward-sloping yield curve -- the situation in which yields rise with longer maturities -- backfires, warned Dr. Joe Abbey, economist and head of the Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA). “For some time, we were wondering how yields could be falling when inflation was picking up. But clearly, there’s a trend reversal in the market,” he said. Inflation soared to 13.5 percent in December, 4.5 percentage points above the central bank’s key target. Dr. Abbey said foreign investors -- whose bids for a higher interest rate on seven-year debt sold in November were rejected -- will return demanding high yields when the first three-year bonds in 2014 are sold next month. The last sale of the bonds, in May 2013, was at a yield of 19.24 percent, but foreign investors -- who can only buy debt of three-year maturity or longer -- are set to bid for higher rates due to the sliding cedi, which has lost 21 percent to the dollar from a year ago. “There’s a certain reality confronting us next month. The BoG shut out foreign investors last time, but now the chickens are coming home to roost and the three-year rate could shoot up,” said Dr. Abbey. “The reality is that foreign investors do not seem to be impressed, and by many criteria Ghana’s [foreign exchange] reserve adequacy is questionable.” Reserves rose by US$300million to US$5.6billion in the 11 months to November 2013, but fell in terms of import cover from 3 months to 2.9 months, the central bank said in November. It also said it will introduce rules to harmonise the way banks trade foreign currency and quote the exchange rate of the cedi, a move expected to improve transparency amid a wide disparity between official exchange rates and those quoted by banks. The regulator will also allow banks to sell the yuan, the Chinese currency, to traders who import from the Asian nation as the current reliance on dollars puts pressure on the cedi. Chinese trade with Ghana topped US$5billion in 2012 from US$434million in 2005 as more Ghanaian businesses started sourcing goods from the world’s second-biggest economy, where suppliers are noted for their cheap prices. Soaring interest rates may also reflect concern about the government’s deficit, which could rise above a projected 10.2 percent of GDP for 2013. Aside more borrowing to clear payment arrears, the government will find it difficult to get the deficit down and stabilise debt ratios as economic growth -- which averaged more than 8 percent per annum between 2008 and 2012 -- begins to falter. According to CEPA, GDP growth -- which plunged to a record low on quarterly basis between July and September last year -- may at best be 4.8 percent for 2013, meaning a bigger deficit and more trouble with international ratings agencies. Fitch Ratings downgraded the country late last year, while Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s put it on a negative outlook, implying a high likelihood of a downgrade. “We need to get back to what was the final deficit outcome of 2013. Even the projected outcome of 10.2 percent was very disappointing,” said Dr. Abbey. By Leslie Dwight MENSAH

Curious onlookers who thronged Kwahu-Fodoa to witness the massive destruction caused by a gas explosion last Wednesday, January 22, 2014 were struck with awe when a Bible inside a church in the affected area remained intact. The inferno destroyed most of the items in the Kwahu-Fodoa branch of the New Faith Church International but did not touch the 50-year-old Bible. The Bible laid on top of a table on the altar of the church after a gas tanker crashed into the church and sparked the fire. A picture believed to be one of the church’s leaders also lying on top of the Bible and a notebook lying beside the Bible were spared. However, several chairs belonging to the church that were behind the table on the altar were completely burnt together with other items in the church building. When The Mirror visited the farming community last Friday, three days after the explosion, some of the onlookers described the scene inside the church building as “a wonder”. “Indeed everything will pass away but not the word of God,” retorted Kwabena Addo, a resident of the area, who looked on dumbfounded at the unburnt Bible. Several residents who spoke to The Mirror stated that the church building had now become a 'tourist' attraction to most motorists and other people who stopped by to take a look at the extent of damage caused by the fire. The inferno killed eight people and caused life-threatening injuries to 13 others, most of whom are currently receiving treatment at the Burns Unit of the Komodo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi. The blaze also destroyed 37 houses, farms and domestic animals. It has displaced hundreds of the residents, causing them to seek refuge in nearby Kwahu towns. The incident followed an accident involving a gas tanker that skidded off the road and crashed into the church building. The impact of the crash was so severe that one of the compartment of the tanker opened, releasing huge amount of gas into the atmosphere. The inferno was sparked two hours later when the gas came into contact with the naked fire that consumed items in the church and a large part of the farming community.

  Large-scale oil palm growers in the country have threatened to abandon their farms for the cultivation of rubber and other cash crops if government does not end its neglect of the industry. Growers complain of lacking financial support from government and banks, lack of appropriate pricing for their commodity, no input subsidies or state-sponsored extension services -- all of which combine to deprive them of a decent livelihood from the crop. “In the oil palm sector, farmers experience very little help from government. There are no extension officers to provide training to any farmer. Nobody tells us what to grow, how to farm, how to get higher productivity or learn new farming and agronomic techniques. We are left alone in the business, unlike farmers of cash crops such as cocoa and rubber,” said Kwame Adentwi, an oil palm farmer in Abekwasi in the Western Region, in an interview with the B&FT. “If this continues we will convert our farms into the cultivation of rubber, which is more lucrative and can earn us decent livelihoods.” Oil palm is the fifth-largest crop in Ghana in terms of area planted after cocoa, maize, cassava and yam. Approximately 305,758 hectares of plantation is being cultivated nationwide, with an additional 20,000 hectares needed to meet local demand. In 2012, oil palm processing groups projected a production output of 260,000 metric tonnes, and a deficit of 35,000 metric tonnes that is met by imports. More than 80 percent of the crop is grown by private small-scale farmers who mostly use unimproved planting materials, leading to the very low productivity of farms. Oil palm from Ghana is exported mainly to neighbouring ECOWAS countries and the EU on a small scale. Edible oil palm and palm-based products are also imported into the country in significant quantities. “We are being cheated always by the big companies who buy the produce from us. There is no regulatory body to speak for us like the cocoa sector. We need financial support in the form of loans for farm maintenance, fertilisers and planting materials,” Mr. Adentwi said. He spoke to the B&FT during a training programme organised by Solidaridad, a global investor in sustainable agricultural supply chains, to educate oil palm farmers on new farming techniques to increase productivity and profitability. The programme, the “Sustainable West Africa Palm Oil Project”, assembled oil palm farmers and millers at Twifo Praso in the Western Region. Three years ago, the government published an oil palm master-plan that set out a strategy to boost production and farmers’ competitiveness, but growers say the words have not been followed by actions. Current forecasts suggest the ECOWAS market faces an unmet demand of up to one million metric tonnes of the crop. In Africa, where production was 1.75million metric tonnes in 2009, Nigeria accounts for about half of the output; followed by Côte d’Ivoire with 16 percent; Cameroon and DRC with 10 percent each; and Ghana accounting for 6 percent. Côte d’Ivoire is the only net-exporter of the crop in the region. Ghana’s first international commercial trade in oil palm took place in 1820. Starting from wild harvesting, oil palm evolved into an agricultural crop and plantations were established by 1850. In the 1880s, the crop accounted for 75 percent of export revenue until it was overtaken by cocoa in 1911.Global production of oil palm is estimated by the United States Department of Agriculture at 50.28 million metric tonnes in the crop-year ending September 2011. Africa’s share has dropped from about 27 percent in 1980 to 3 percent in 2011. Indonesia and Malaysia are the top-two growers, accounting for 85 percent of world production. By Ekow Essabra-Mensah

The Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) has apologised to the public for the collection of unapproved fees from first-year students by some heads of senior high schools (SHSs). In view of their regret over their actions, CHASS said, the heads had credited the accounts of the affected students with the unapproved fees. “We concede that some of our colleagues may have made some mistakes in the course of the implementation of some policies. We, therefore, unreservedly apologise on behalf of our colleagues who may have erred in one way or the other,” the President of CHASS, Mr Samuel Ofori-Adjei, said at a press conference in Accra yesterday.  He deplored the attitude of those heads who had been involved in the act, since all heads had been cautioned by the conference against engaging in such acts.  Complaints unit Shortly after the release of SHS placements, there were reports about the collection of unapproved fees by some heads of schools.  The situation prompted the Ministry of Education to set up a complaints secretariat in November 2013 to receive complaints on illegal fees collection, grievances and criticisms from the public for redress. By January 11, this year, the unit had received about 300 complaints from parents and guardians. Early release of fees Mr Ofori-Adjei called on the Ghana Education Service (GES) to come up with the approved fees before schools reopened for the first term of every academic year. According to him, the approved fees for this academic year were released to heads on October 30, 2013 after students had started going to school in September. “We implement the policies formulated by the Ministry of Education through the GES. By our calling, we operate with the process, the system, the environment and the people. “As a human institution, in the performance of our duties we are bound to make mistakes,” he said.  Erroneous impressions As heads of SHSs, Mr Ofori-Adjei said, they were faced with daunting challenges on a daily basis “and we have tried to manage our schools with very limited resources”. He said sometimes heads found it very difficult to provide basic teaching and learning materials for teachers and students to perform their duties. He said the constraints faced by schools included unpaid absorbed fees and feeding grants, inadequate supply of government textbooks and unnecessary harassment by EOCO with regard to school terms fees. The CHASS President said as a result of unpaid absorbed fees, for instance, “schools are finding it difficult to pay utility bills, particularly electricity and water which students use very much”. “Sanitation expenditure is also a big problem due to the regular lifting of solid and liquid waste. We wish to state that schools pay commercial rates for electricity and water, although they are not commercial or profit making entities,” he said. Feeding fee Mr Ofori-Adjei said the GH¢2.20 feeding fee per student per day was used to buy food, firewood, gas and cooking utensils, pay VAT and withholding tax, adding that the feeding fee was approved in September 2012, although economic conditions had dramatically changed since then. “The rise in fuel prices, increase in utilities and other maintenance costs and recent adjustments in VAT have greatly reduced the value of the feeding fee, which is used to provide three square meals for adolescent students,” he said. Communication With regard to the channel of communication between the Ministry of Education and CHASS, he said that should be done through the GES and not through the press. Mr Ofori-Adjei said the public must know that heads of second-cycle schools had an important role in educating and shaping the future leaders of the country and, therefore, they needed respect from the public. “Any attempt to ridicule them in the media unnecessarily will definitely have a negative impact on discipline in SHSs,” he said.

The Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems Limited (GhIPSS) says it plans to introduce an electronic payment system that will allow seamless instant interbank transfer of funds via mobile devices as well as Internet platforms. The gh-link Instant , when introduced, will ease the reliance on the previous payment system wherein interbank transfer of funds take three hours even under express transactions through a system known as Direct Credit, under the Automated Clearing House (ACH), and 24 hours if it is not under express transaction. Speaking to journalists in Accra, Archie Hesse Chief Executive of GhIPSS, said: “We are coming out with a development such that will allow interbank payment to be made instantly. It will be available to all banks that are connected to the gh-link system.” gh-link is a GhIPSS interbank switching and processing system that interconnects switches of financial institutions and systems of third party institutions to enable them utilise a common platform for interbank transactions in an effective and efficient manner. “In jurisdictions where instant pay has been introduced, you see a drastic reduction in the use of direct credit because some banks tend to hold onto funds to keep up with the float, so people start migrating to the use of the instant payment service,” Mr. Hesse said. The service payment system will come in handy for businesses that want a quick and safe way of making or receiving payments. He added: “One added benefit that will come with the instant pay system is the supply-chain system that we refer to as the e-Bills pay. This is used mainly by wholesalers. It is appropriate for wholesalers who are required to make payments before dispatch is done. We are also in talks with some wholesalers to sign them onto the platform. This system has been tried by our counterparts in Nigeria and it’s working very well”. By Richard Annerquaye Abbey

Ghanaian youngster Razak Nuhu has joined Cypriot top-flight side Apollon Limassol on loan with a view of making the move permanent at the end of the season, GHANASoccernet.com can exclusively reveal.

A man, believed to be in his late 20s, fell from the third floor of a four-storey building to his death in Kumasi early Thursday. The man, identified only as Nana Osei, unemployed, fell on a waste collector who was then descending from an alley, before hitting the ground with his head. He died instantly. The incident, which occurred at Adum around 9:40 a.m, attracted many people to the scene. At the time of filing this report, it was not clear if the incident was a case of a suicide or an accident. Nana Osei, who, according to eyewitnesses, appeared to be drunk, had returned from the wake of a dead friend. He even had the funeral bill of the deceased friend, Isaac Osei, pinned to his breast pocket. According to Dauda Alhassan, the waste collector, he was doing his usual rounds of collecting waste from the offices in the vicinity for disposal when Nana Osei, out of the blue, fell on him. He said although he felt some pain in his neck when Nana Osei fell on him, he had to run away because he was scared, leaving behind his wheelbarrow and the waste.  Ms Vida Sarpong, who identified the deceased, said he was the younger brother of her husband. According to Ms Sarpong, Nana Osei neither had any mental problem nor did he show any suicidal tendencies. Meanwhile, the body of the deceased has been conveyed to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) mortuary, while the Kumasi Central Police have taken over investigations into the incident.

The Bank of Ghana has injected $20 million into critical areas of the economy as part of efforts to shore up the cedi. Governor of the bank, Dr Henry Kofi Wampah, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic did not give details but said there were also plans to roll out more stringent measures to fend off mounting inflation and stabilise the cedi. He said decline in the value of currencies was not peculiar to Ghana, was pervasive in many parts of the world. In an effort to stablise the cedi, there was the need to ensure that the country’s reserves were not be depleted. The cedi has, since the beginning of the year, suffered more than three per cent depreciation against other currencies, as demand for the dollar by local firms importing goods to drive the growing economy heavily outstripped the supply, thereby worsening the country's inflation outlook.  Dr Wampah also said the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) would announce a string of banking reserve restrictions to deal with the twin difficulty of inflation and depreciation of the cedi. “We are aware of the slight depreciation of the cedi, and in addition to the measures we have just announced, new guidelines will be considered at the next MPC sitting,” he said. New regulations The central bank had already issued new regulations to improve liquidity on the interbank currency market and shore up the local currency, Dr Wampah said. The regulations require all commercial banks in the country to quote a two-way pricing of currency exchange and limit the spread on corporate transactions to a maximum of 200 percentage points. "I believe this new set of measures and others to follow soon are transformational and will help revamp our interbank market and stabilise the local currency,” he said. The BoG Governor and his team are expected to go to Parliament to reinforce their regulatory control of the currency under the current circumstances. "We intend to ensure strict compliance," he said, adding that the central bank would soon announce further restrictions on foreign accounts. Although January has barely ended, the cedi has already depreciated by more than three per cent, after closing 2013 with a 17 per cent slump against the dollar. It was trading at GH¢2.45 or GH¢2.50 to the dollar last Tuesday and analysts expect it to remain under pressure next week, while market participants assess the impact of the new regulations. But Dr Wampah was upbeat that the measures already taken and those which would be rolled out next would stem the tide. “This decline is seasonal due to firms buying dollars to pay for goods bought during Christmas and it will soon subside,” he said. Analysts say the directive will result in a review of the measures introduced to check the cedi's free fall, since other measures already introduced are yet to produce the desired result. More than regulations The Head of Research at Databank, Mr Sampson Akligo, thinks the problem requires more than regulations. According to him, providing a two-way quote and limiting the spread would help in facilitating transparency.  “Broader rules often rather distort the markets and lead to off-balance sheet transaction,” he said. The attempt to stem the constant decline of the cedi follows a directive by the Vice-President, Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, that the Finance Ministry, together with the BoG must work fast to save the local currency from further depreciation. Finance Minister The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Seth Terkper, has promised to strengthen existing foreign exchange laws to help halt the decline in the value of the cedi. Earlier this week, President John Mahama had said stabilising the currency was a priority if the government was to enable the private sector to lead economic development. Other priorities, he said, were bringing down inflation and closing the budget deficit, he said.  Macroeconomic instability, including a falling currency, casts a shadow over Ghana's economy. Background In 2012, when the cedi depreciated by almost 20 per cent, the BoG, then headed by now Vice-President Amissah-Arthur, increased interest rates, limited the net open positions of local banks in currency trading, introduced new 30, 60 and 270-day government bonds to mop up liquidity, restricted local banks from holding nine per cent reserves against non-cedi deposits in foreign exchange and instructed a 100 per cent local Ghana cedi cover for all bank vostro accounts. Those measures temporarily halted the decline of the cedi, which was seen as a bold attempt to stem exchange rate fluctuations. The new Ghana cedi was introduced on July 3, 2007 after four zeros were knocked off, making it the highest-valued currency unit issued by any sovereign country in Africa in 2007.  At that time, US$1 was sold at GH¢0.91.  In December 2008, US$1 was sold at GH¢1.10.  In June 2009, US$1 was sold at GH¢1.40; in December 2010 it sold at GH¢1.47 and in December 2011 it sold at GH¢1.64 At the beginning of 2013, US$1 was exchanged at GH¢1.88 and ended the year at GH¢2.16, a 15 per cent decline, according to statistics by the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE).

Sporting Lisbon striker William Owusu has arrived in South Africa to undergo trials at Orlando Pirates.

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