Story By Felix Dela Klutse
Editor of Business Guide and Business Editor of Daily Guide, Ghana
Mobile: 0243226596
American businesses in the country are expected to escalate next year as a number of US firms, both small and large, have lined up to set up in Ghana, Mona Boyd, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ghana has disclosed.
Already, giant computer maker, IBM has set up a small office in the country with the aim of expanding and perhaps assembling computers in the near future.
Other blue chip companies are expected to follow suit and thus expand their frontiers when economic prospects in the country become brighter, BUSINESS GUIDE has learnt.
Ghana is one of the few countries in Africa that have so far achieved political and economic stability for almost two decades, culminating in American firms using the country as a strategic location to spread their operations in sub-Saharan Africa.
In the last two decades, three US Presidents, namely Bill Clinton, George Walker Bush and lately Barrack Obama, have paid working visits to Ghana, heightening US attention on Ghana. Their visits, especially that of Mr. Bush and Mr. Obama, which occurred in 2008 and 2009, appear to have ignited a new trend of American business interest to propel Ghana into the global market.
Importantly, the American businesses are contributing immensely to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or growth rate and revenue mobilization to government among others. Their total capital runs into billions of dollars, looking at the large nature of some of the entities that are employing some thousands of people.
US businesses in Ghana include large, medium and small scale and are running into some hundreds. They are into mining, pharmaceuticals, finance, airline, trading, ICT and others. Some are also operating in the free zone enclave.
Among the large blue chip firms are Newmont Ghana which is the second largest gold mining company in the world; Golden Star Resources, a mining firm operating at Prestea and Bogoso in the Western region; Coca-Cola and Kosmos Energy which recently announced the sale of its 30 percent shares in the Jubilee Oilfield.
Liberty Capital, a finance and investment company, American Airlines and Delta Airlines are some of the firms considered as medium scale US businesses in Ghana.
Small businesses owned by US nationals are also doing brisk business in the country.
Those operating in the free zone enclave include Rising Data Solutions and Cargill Cocoa Processing Company.
Some local firms are also serving as representatives to some American businesses in Ghana whilst others such as Mechanical Lloyd hold the franchise to sell Ford vehicles in Ghana on behalf of General Motors.
E-mail: felixklutse@yahoo.com
Monday, December 7, 2009
Chinese Take African Market By Storm
Story By Felix Dela Klutse
Business Editor
Daily Guide Newspaper
Accra-Ghana
Chinese have gradually taken over the African market with a primary focus on the textiles industry where the growth of its exports constitute a double agony for Africa.
Exports of Chinese textiles to Africa are especially undermining local African industries while the growth of Chinese exports to the United States is shutting down the promising growth of African exports.
In Ghana, the textile industry continues to face challenges, amid growing competition from cheap imports from China.
A source told CITY & BUSINESS GUIDE that apart from Akosombo Textile Limited (ATL), which is operating fully, household names such as Ghana Textile Print (GTP) and Printex have all shut down their spinning and weaving departments due to cheap imports from China.
These sections employed a chunk of the labour in the industry. However, the companies could no longer afford to accommodate these numbers and pay over 30 times the amount of cheap imports from China.
Textiles that come from China do not only carry the designs of Ghanaian cloths, but are imitated to let them appear as if they were produced in Ghana. Although the Chinese textiles are not durable, compared to made-in-Ghana cloth, they sell far below Ghanaian textiles.
Consequently, most retailers of local textile companies such as ATL, Printex, and Ghana Textiles Prints (GTP) are said to have abandoned the local cloth and are now selling wax prints from China, which is far cheaper.
Due to the hardships, the companies have all resorted to the importation of gray baft and semi-finished cloth for printing in the country.
Industry watchers are thinking about the fate of tertiary graduates who pursue Industrial Art programmes with textile option on the labour market as the sector faces imminent collapse. No wonder students now opt for business programmes at the tertiary level rather than technical courses.
Some members of the Textile, Garments and Leather Employees Union (TEGLEU) recently revealed that the problems with Ghana’s textile industry still existed and were getting worse each day.
They argued that there was the need for government to find out why the sector is collapsing and why Ghana cannot compete with China in order to find lasting solutions rather than taking a defeatist approach.
Though stakeholders in the country have made frantic efforts to revitalize the textile and garment industry, this seems to have hit the rocks since the economy is recording a rapid surge in the sale of fake logos and designs of Chinese textile firms on the market.
A worker at Gregory Knitting, George Annan told this paper that “we in the clothing and manufacturing sector are seeing shocking times. Sales in 2003 were reasonable; they were better in 2004, but very bad since 2005 to date.”
Mr. Annan wondered how some Chinese inferior products get to the local market.
“Who allow them into the country?” he questioned.
Industry watchers are worried that if the flood gates are opened for the Chinese textiles to saturate the Ghanaian market, then the industry will totally collapse.
They contended that current situation had made it difficult for local producers of textile to sustain production levels and to operate profitably.
They believe that the dwindling fortunes can be addressed if the state strengthens agencies such as the Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) to intensify border patrols. They further suggested that port operations should be tightened to ensure that cheap imports do not slip in.
But how well and soon will the authorities respond to the calls that remain an issue of concern to industry players whose hope of continued survival in the business depend on it.
With regards to the construction industry, Chinese firms are winning important public works due to the very competitive prices that they offer.
China won a contract to build the Bui Dam, the Burma Hall Complex in Accra, one wing of the 37th military hospital, among other projects. However, the sad news is that the wages paid to the Ghanaian workers are below the minimum wage.
“One thing about China is that after they have given you funds for a project, they then bring in their own people to head managerial positions, leaving most Ghanaians to do the menial jobs.
“The issue of technology and skill transfer is not working,” a worker at Bui Dam, who pleaded anonymity, told this paper in a telephone interview.
Apart from the textile industry, investigation shows that Chinese investors have succeeded in flooding the African market with food, beverages and tobacco products in addition to minerals, animal, vegetable oils, wax and chemical products and machinery. These goods are not so different from the one from the United States.
Chinese investors, most of whom have registered with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) as manufacturers, have metamorphosed into retailers, serving as conduits for the massive importation of Chinese products into Ghana.
A Research Consultant with the Ghana Trade Union Congress (GTUC), Kwabena Nyarko Otoo, told this paper in Accra last week that Chinese investors deliberately register as manufacturers to evade the payment of requisite fees for foreign retailers, placing the blame at the doorstep of the Inspectorate Division of GIPC and Registrar-General’s Department.
He described the approach of both institutions as sluggish and ineffective.
Mr Otoo stated that investigations by his outfit on some of the registered Chinese manufacturers revealed that they were no more manufacturers, stressing, “A call to a Chinese manufacturer who has registered with GIPC as a mattress manufacturer showed that he was in serious retail with about five indigenous staff.
“Another visit to a company at Tema also revealed the expatriate was not into manufacturing and had only 3 workers.”
According to Kwasi Adu Amankwa, Secretary General of Africa Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa), Government has failed over the years to properly interpret the Chinese language of Ghana’s business policies and code.
This, he explained, has led to the undue exploitation of indigenous people by Chinese employers. The minimum basic wage for indigenous staff of Chinese companies is GH¢3, while that of the Ghanaian worker is pegged at GH¢2 instead of GH¢2.655 as required by the law.
Should any indigene get sick or hurt by any machinery during work, the Chinese employers ask them to seek for treatment at their own cost and pay the salaries of indisposed workers based on how many days they have worked.
K.F Young, a Chinese national working with the Ghana Judicial Service told this paper that his people come to Ghana with the aim of doing business.
“Chinese produce more than what they need; hence there is the need to export what is left,” he stated.
In Nigeria, Vanguard Newspaper reported that two 220,000 workers in the textile industry have lost their jobs in the past 10 years due to the closure of factories as a result of imports from China.
80 percent of the affected workers have since taken to the riding of commercial motorcycles, popularly called “okada,” the report stated.
The Director General of Nigeria Textile Manufacturing Association (NTMA), Jolaoso Olarewaju, said between 1996 and 2006, the number of employees on the association’s employment data had reduced from 250,000 to less than 30,000.
He said within the period under review, the numbers of closed textile companies namely Kaduna Textile Mill, UNT PLC, Supertex, Enpee, Afprint, among others also fell to 40 from 175, while cumulative production dropped from 1.5 billion to less than 400 million metres of fabrics per year.
Mr Olarewaju attributed most of the problems affecting operators in the sector to smuggling, faking and counterfeiting of locally made fabrics by the Chinese.
Low cost imports from China have largely devastated the Nigerian textile and other consumer industries at Kano and Kaduna.
Given Nigeria’s underdevelopment and unreliable power supply, which forces most industries to rely on back-up diesel generators, the prospect of the country in regaining a competitive edge seems remote.
South Africa is another country that provides a good example. Reports say Chinese exports of textiles to South Africa grew from 40 percent of clothing imports to 80 percent by the end of 2004.
Out of 100 T-shirts imported into South Africa, 80 were from China. From 1996 to date, employment in the textile industry had decreased. By the end of 2002, reports revealed that 75,000 had lost their jobs in the industry.
South Africa’s clothing exports to the United States also dropped from $26 million in the first quarter of 2004 to $12 million for the first quarter of 2005 due to growing competition from cheap imports from China.
The situation has compelled South African industrialists and workers to clamour for protective action, which was also joined by church leaders and opposition leader, Tony Leon.
The country’s trade union federation is also calling for a restriction on Chinese imports, urging retailers to stock 75 percent of locally made goods. Industry players are also calling for customs officials to impound undervalued Chinese imports.
In Lesotho, more than 10 clothing factories were closed down in 2005, throwing at least 10,000 employees out of work due to the growing competition from cheap imports from China.
Though China has been forthcoming in providing assistance and investment in Africa with few strings and considerable cash, it has equally been firm in defending its export policies.
The interesting thing is that while some people want African Governments to restrict or ban the import of non-essential commodity from China; others think otherwise.
China’s Economic and Commercial Counselor in South Africa, Wen Jiabao warned Africans recently that “unfair and discriminative restrictions will never be accepted by China.”
He pointed out that China was within its rights under the WTO and had invested carefully during the last 10 years to become efficient and competitive.
“Thanks to the arduous efforts over the years, the Chinese textiles and clothing industry managed to sharpen its international competitive edge and gained the comparative advantages its now enjoys,” Wen Jiabao stated.
He added that even if African countries placed restrictions on Chinese goods, they would not be able to control the substitute flow of goods from India and Pakistan. The solution, he said, was for Africa to adopt a “positive attitude.
The Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sal Doe Amegashie, told the media recently in Accra that a ban would not solve the problem.
“China is the economy of today and tomorrow and Africans must learn from them. We need to send people to China to learn about their work ethics, among other things,” he suggested.
The question then is does China want to be seen in Africa as the defender of rogue states and an aggressive seeker of Africa’s natural resources without regard to transparency, development and stability ?
Is there room for developing some rules in which Chinese economic gains for Africa and itself can come side by side?
The writer of this piece suggests that it is better to explore these possibilities than to start down the path of trying to limit Chinese influence.
Next week, the writer of this piece would look at why majority of Ghanaians prefer Chinese products to others in the market even though they are considered inferior.
Grab your copy of Daily Guide next week and read this interesting article, which is being supported by Panos Institute of West Africa (PIWA).
E-mail:felixklutse@yahoo.com
Blog: www.klutsespots.com
Business Editor
Daily Guide Newspaper
Accra-Ghana
Chinese have gradually taken over the African market with a primary focus on the textiles industry where the growth of its exports constitute a double agony for Africa.
Exports of Chinese textiles to Africa are especially undermining local African industries while the growth of Chinese exports to the United States is shutting down the promising growth of African exports.
In Ghana, the textile industry continues to face challenges, amid growing competition from cheap imports from China.
A source told CITY & BUSINESS GUIDE that apart from Akosombo Textile Limited (ATL), which is operating fully, household names such as Ghana Textile Print (GTP) and Printex have all shut down their spinning and weaving departments due to cheap imports from China.
These sections employed a chunk of the labour in the industry. However, the companies could no longer afford to accommodate these numbers and pay over 30 times the amount of cheap imports from China.
Textiles that come from China do not only carry the designs of Ghanaian cloths, but are imitated to let them appear as if they were produced in Ghana. Although the Chinese textiles are not durable, compared to made-in-Ghana cloth, they sell far below Ghanaian textiles.
Consequently, most retailers of local textile companies such as ATL, Printex, and Ghana Textiles Prints (GTP) are said to have abandoned the local cloth and are now selling wax prints from China, which is far cheaper.
Due to the hardships, the companies have all resorted to the importation of gray baft and semi-finished cloth for printing in the country.
Industry watchers are thinking about the fate of tertiary graduates who pursue Industrial Art programmes with textile option on the labour market as the sector faces imminent collapse. No wonder students now opt for business programmes at the tertiary level rather than technical courses.
Some members of the Textile, Garments and Leather Employees Union (TEGLEU) recently revealed that the problems with Ghana’s textile industry still existed and were getting worse each day.
They argued that there was the need for government to find out why the sector is collapsing and why Ghana cannot compete with China in order to find lasting solutions rather than taking a defeatist approach.
Though stakeholders in the country have made frantic efforts to revitalize the textile and garment industry, this seems to have hit the rocks since the economy is recording a rapid surge in the sale of fake logos and designs of Chinese textile firms on the market.
A worker at Gregory Knitting, George Annan told this paper that “we in the clothing and manufacturing sector are seeing shocking times. Sales in 2003 were reasonable; they were better in 2004, but very bad since 2005 to date.”
Mr. Annan wondered how some Chinese inferior products get to the local market.
“Who allow them into the country?” he questioned.
Industry watchers are worried that if the flood gates are opened for the Chinese textiles to saturate the Ghanaian market, then the industry will totally collapse.
They contended that current situation had made it difficult for local producers of textile to sustain production levels and to operate profitably.
They believe that the dwindling fortunes can be addressed if the state strengthens agencies such as the Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) to intensify border patrols. They further suggested that port operations should be tightened to ensure that cheap imports do not slip in.
But how well and soon will the authorities respond to the calls that remain an issue of concern to industry players whose hope of continued survival in the business depend on it.
With regards to the construction industry, Chinese firms are winning important public works due to the very competitive prices that they offer.
China won a contract to build the Bui Dam, the Burma Hall Complex in Accra, one wing of the 37th military hospital, among other projects. However, the sad news is that the wages paid to the Ghanaian workers are below the minimum wage.
“One thing about China is that after they have given you funds for a project, they then bring in their own people to head managerial positions, leaving most Ghanaians to do the menial jobs.
“The issue of technology and skill transfer is not working,” a worker at Bui Dam, who pleaded anonymity, told this paper in a telephone interview.
Apart from the textile industry, investigation shows that Chinese investors have succeeded in flooding the African market with food, beverages and tobacco products in addition to minerals, animal, vegetable oils, wax and chemical products and machinery. These goods are not so different from the one from the United States.
Chinese investors, most of whom have registered with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) as manufacturers, have metamorphosed into retailers, serving as conduits for the massive importation of Chinese products into Ghana.
A Research Consultant with the Ghana Trade Union Congress (GTUC), Kwabena Nyarko Otoo, told this paper in Accra last week that Chinese investors deliberately register as manufacturers to evade the payment of requisite fees for foreign retailers, placing the blame at the doorstep of the Inspectorate Division of GIPC and Registrar-General’s Department.
He described the approach of both institutions as sluggish and ineffective.
Mr Otoo stated that investigations by his outfit on some of the registered Chinese manufacturers revealed that they were no more manufacturers, stressing, “A call to a Chinese manufacturer who has registered with GIPC as a mattress manufacturer showed that he was in serious retail with about five indigenous staff.
“Another visit to a company at Tema also revealed the expatriate was not into manufacturing and had only 3 workers.”
According to Kwasi Adu Amankwa, Secretary General of Africa Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa), Government has failed over the years to properly interpret the Chinese language of Ghana’s business policies and code.
This, he explained, has led to the undue exploitation of indigenous people by Chinese employers. The minimum basic wage for indigenous staff of Chinese companies is GH¢3, while that of the Ghanaian worker is pegged at GH¢2 instead of GH¢2.655 as required by the law.
Should any indigene get sick or hurt by any machinery during work, the Chinese employers ask them to seek for treatment at their own cost and pay the salaries of indisposed workers based on how many days they have worked.
K.F Young, a Chinese national working with the Ghana Judicial Service told this paper that his people come to Ghana with the aim of doing business.
“Chinese produce more than what they need; hence there is the need to export what is left,” he stated.
In Nigeria, Vanguard Newspaper reported that two 220,000 workers in the textile industry have lost their jobs in the past 10 years due to the closure of factories as a result of imports from China.
80 percent of the affected workers have since taken to the riding of commercial motorcycles, popularly called “okada,” the report stated.
The Director General of Nigeria Textile Manufacturing Association (NTMA), Jolaoso Olarewaju, said between 1996 and 2006, the number of employees on the association’s employment data had reduced from 250,000 to less than 30,000.
He said within the period under review, the numbers of closed textile companies namely Kaduna Textile Mill, UNT PLC, Supertex, Enpee, Afprint, among others also fell to 40 from 175, while cumulative production dropped from 1.5 billion to less than 400 million metres of fabrics per year.
Mr Olarewaju attributed most of the problems affecting operators in the sector to smuggling, faking and counterfeiting of locally made fabrics by the Chinese.
Low cost imports from China have largely devastated the Nigerian textile and other consumer industries at Kano and Kaduna.
Given Nigeria’s underdevelopment and unreliable power supply, which forces most industries to rely on back-up diesel generators, the prospect of the country in regaining a competitive edge seems remote.
South Africa is another country that provides a good example. Reports say Chinese exports of textiles to South Africa grew from 40 percent of clothing imports to 80 percent by the end of 2004.
Out of 100 T-shirts imported into South Africa, 80 were from China. From 1996 to date, employment in the textile industry had decreased. By the end of 2002, reports revealed that 75,000 had lost their jobs in the industry.
South Africa’s clothing exports to the United States also dropped from $26 million in the first quarter of 2004 to $12 million for the first quarter of 2005 due to growing competition from cheap imports from China.
The situation has compelled South African industrialists and workers to clamour for protective action, which was also joined by church leaders and opposition leader, Tony Leon.
The country’s trade union federation is also calling for a restriction on Chinese imports, urging retailers to stock 75 percent of locally made goods. Industry players are also calling for customs officials to impound undervalued Chinese imports.
In Lesotho, more than 10 clothing factories were closed down in 2005, throwing at least 10,000 employees out of work due to the growing competition from cheap imports from China.
Though China has been forthcoming in providing assistance and investment in Africa with few strings and considerable cash, it has equally been firm in defending its export policies.
The interesting thing is that while some people want African Governments to restrict or ban the import of non-essential commodity from China; others think otherwise.
China’s Economic and Commercial Counselor in South Africa, Wen Jiabao warned Africans recently that “unfair and discriminative restrictions will never be accepted by China.”
He pointed out that China was within its rights under the WTO and had invested carefully during the last 10 years to become efficient and competitive.
“Thanks to the arduous efforts over the years, the Chinese textiles and clothing industry managed to sharpen its international competitive edge and gained the comparative advantages its now enjoys,” Wen Jiabao stated.
He added that even if African countries placed restrictions on Chinese goods, they would not be able to control the substitute flow of goods from India and Pakistan. The solution, he said, was for Africa to adopt a “positive attitude.
The Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sal Doe Amegashie, told the media recently in Accra that a ban would not solve the problem.
“China is the economy of today and tomorrow and Africans must learn from them. We need to send people to China to learn about their work ethics, among other things,” he suggested.
The question then is does China want to be seen in Africa as the defender of rogue states and an aggressive seeker of Africa’s natural resources without regard to transparency, development and stability ?
Is there room for developing some rules in which Chinese economic gains for Africa and itself can come side by side?
The writer of this piece suggests that it is better to explore these possibilities than to start down the path of trying to limit Chinese influence.
Next week, the writer of this piece would look at why majority of Ghanaians prefer Chinese products to others in the market even though they are considered inferior.
Grab your copy of Daily Guide next week and read this interesting article, which is being supported by Panos Institute of West Africa (PIWA).
E-mail:felixklutse@yahoo.com
Blog: www.klutsespots.com
Chinese Take African Market By Storm
By Felix Dela Klutse
Chinese have gradually taken over the African market with a primary focus on the textiles industry where the growth of its exports constitute a double agony for Africa.
Exports of Chinese textiles to Africa are especially undermining local African industries while the growth of Chinese exports to the United States is shutting down the promising growth of African exports.
In Ghana, the textile industry continues to face challenges, amid growing competition from cheap imports from China.
A source told CITY & BUSINESS GUIDE that apart from Akosombo Textile Limited (ATL), which is operating fully, household names such as Ghana Textile Print (GTP) and Printex have all shut down their spinning and weaving departments due to cheap imports from China.
These sections employed a chunk of the labour in the industry. However, the companies could no longer afford to accommodate these numbers and pay over 30 times the amount of cheap imports from China.
Textiles that come from China do not only carry the designs of Ghanaian cloths, but are imitated to let them appear as if they were produced in Ghana. Although the Chinese textiles are not durable, compared to made-in-Ghana cloth, they sell far below Ghanaian textiles.
Consequently, most retailers of local textile companies such as ATL, Printex, and Ghana Textiles Prints (GTP) are said to have abandoned the local cloth and are now selling wax prints from China, which is far cheaper.
Due to the hardships, the companies have all resorted to the importation of gray baft and semi-finished cloth for printing in the country.
Industry watchers are thinking about the fate of tertiary graduates who pursue Industrial Art programmes with textile option on the labour market as the sector faces imminent collapse. No wonder students now opt for business programmes at the tertiary level rather than technical courses.
Some members of the Textile, Garments and Leather Employees Union (TEGLEU) recently revealed that the problems with Ghana’s textile industry still existed and were getting worse each day.
They argued that there was the need for government to find out why the sector is collapsing and why Ghana cannot compete with China in order to find lasting solutions rather than taking a defeatist approach.
Though stakeholders in the country have made frantic efforts to revitalize the textile and garment industry, this seems to have hit the rocks since the economy is recording a rapid surge in the sale of fake logos and designs of Chinese textile firms on the market.
A worker at Gregory Knitting, George Annan told this paper that “we in the clothing and manufacturing sector are seeing shocking times. Sales in 2003 were reasonable; they were better in 2004, but very bad since 2005 to date.”
Mr. Annan wondered how some Chinese inferior products get to the local market.
“Who allow them into the country?” he questioned.
Industry watchers are worried that if the flood gates are opened for the Chinese textiles to saturate the Ghanaian market, then the industry will totally collapse.
They contended that current situation had made it difficult for local producers of textile to sustain production levels and to operate profitably.
They believe that the dwindling fortunes can be addressed if the state strengthens agencies such as the Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) to intensify border patrols. They further suggested that port operations should be tightened to ensure that cheap imports do not slip in.
But how well and soon will the authorities respond to the calls that remain an issue of concern to industry players whose hope of continued survival in the business depend on it.
With regards to the construction industry, Chinese firms are winning important public works due to the very competitive prices that they offer.
China won a contract to build the Bui Dam, the Burma Hall Complex in Accra, one wing of the 37th military hospital, among other projects. However, the sad news is that the wages paid to the Ghanaian workers are below the minimum wage.
“One thing about China is that after they have given you funds for a project, they then bring in their own people to head managerial positions, leaving most Ghanaians to do the menial jobs.
“The issue of technology and skill transfer is not working,” a worker at Bui Dam, who pleaded anonymity, told this paper in a telephone interview.
Apart from the textile industry, investigation shows that Chinese investors have succeeded in flooding the African market with food, beverages and tobacco products in addition to minerals, animal, vegetable oils, wax and chemical products and machinery. These goods are not so different from the one from the United States.
Chinese investors, most of whom have registered with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) as manufacturers, have metamorphosed into retailers, serving as conduits for the massive importation of Chinese products into Ghana.
A Research Consultant with the Ghana Trade Union Congress (GTUC), Kwabena Nyarko Otoo, told this paper in Accra last week that Chinese investors deliberately register as manufacturers to evade the payment of requisite fees for foreign retailers, placing the blame at the doorstep of the Inspectorate Division of GIPC and Registrar-General’s Department.
He described the approach of both institutions as sluggish and ineffective.
Mr Otoo stated that investigations by his outfit on some of the registered Chinese manufacturers revealed that they were no more manufacturers, stressing, “A call to a Chinese manufacturer who has registered with GIPC as a mattress manufacturer showed that he was in serious retail with about five indigenous staff.
“Another visit to a company at Tema also revealed the expatriate was not into manufacturing and had only 3 workers.”
According to Kwasi Adu Amankwa, Secretary General of Africa Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa), Government has failed over the years to properly interpret the Chinese language of Ghana’s business policies and code.
This, he explained, has led to the undue exploitation of indigenous people by Chinese employers. The minimum basic wage for indigenous staff of Chinese companies is GH¢3, while that of the Ghanaian worker is pegged at GH¢2 instead of GH¢2.655 as required by the law.
Should any indigene get sick or hurt by any machinery during work, the Chinese employers ask them to seek for treatment at their own cost and pay the salaries of indisposed workers based on how many days they have worked.
K.F Young, a Chinese national working with the Ghana Judicial Service told this paper that his people come to Ghana with the aim of doing business.
“Chinese produce more than what they need; hence there is the need to export what is left,” he stated.
In Nigeria, Vanguard Newspaper reported that two 220,000 workers in the textile industry have lost their jobs in the past 10 years due to the closure of factories as a result of imports from China.
80 percent of the affected workers have since taken to the riding of commercial motorcycles, popularly called “okada,” the report stated.
The Director General of Nigeria Textile Manufacturing Association (NTMA), Jolaoso Olarewaju, said between 1996 and 2006, the number of employees on the association’s employment data had reduced from 250,000 to less than 30,000.
He said within the period under review, the numbers of closed textile companies namely Kaduna Textile Mill, UNT PLC, Supertex, Enpee, Afprint, among others also fell to 40 from 175, while cumulative production dropped from 1.5 billion to less than 400 million metres of fabrics per year.
Mr Olarewaju attributed most of the problems affecting operators in the sector to smuggling, faking and counterfeiting of locally made fabrics by the Chinese.
Low cost imports from China have largely devastated the Nigerian textile and other consumer industries at Kano and Kaduna.
Given Nigeria’s underdevelopment and unreliable power supply, which forces most industries to rely on back-up diesel generators, the prospect of the country in regaining a competitive edge seems remote.
South Africa is another country that provides a good example. Reports say Chinese exports of textiles to South Africa grew from 40 percent of clothing imports to 80 percent by the end of 2004.
Out of 100 T-shirts imported into South Africa, 80 were from China. From 1996 to date, employment in the textile industry had decreased. By the end of 2002, reports revealed that 75,000 had lost their jobs in the industry.
South Africa’s clothing exports to the United States also dropped from $26 million in the first quarter of 2004 to $12 million for the first quarter of 2005 due to growing competition from cheap imports from China.
The situation has compelled South African industrialists and workers to clamour for protective action, which was also joined by church leaders and opposition leader, Tony Leon.
The country’s trade union federation is also calling for a restriction on Chinese imports, urging retailers to stock 75 percent of locally made goods. Industry players are also calling for customs officials to impound undervalued Chinese imports.
In Lesotho, more than 10 clothing factories were closed down in 2005, throwing at least 10,000 employees out of work due to the growing competition from cheap imports from China.
Though China has been forthcoming in providing assistance and investment in Africa with few strings and considerable cash, it has equally been firm in defending its export policies.
The interesting thing is that while some people want African Governments to restrict or ban the import of non-essential commodity from China; others think otherwise.
China’s Economic and Commercial Counselor in South Africa, Wen Jiabao warned Africans recently that “unfair and discriminative restrictions will never be accepted by China.”
He pointed out that China was within its rights under the WTO and had invested carefully during the last 10 years to become efficient and competitive.
“Thanks to the arduous efforts over the years, the Chinese textiles and clothing industry managed to sharpen its international competitive edge and gained the comparative advantages its now enjoys,” Wen Jiabao stated.
He added that even if African countries placed restrictions on Chinese goods, they would not be able to control the substitute flow of goods from India and Pakistan. The solution, he said, was for Africa to adopt a “positive attitude.
The Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sal Doe Amegashie, told the media recently in Accra that a ban would not solve the problem.
“China is the economy of today and tomorrow and Africans must learn from them. We need to send people to China to learn about their work ethics, among other things,” he suggested.
The question then is does China want to be seen in Africa as the defender of rogue states and an aggressive seeker of Africa’s natural resources without regard to transparency, development and stability ?
Is there room for developing some rules in which Chinese economic gains for Africa and itself can come side by side?
The writer of this piece suggests that it is better to explore these possibilities than to start down the path of trying to limit Chinese influence.
Next week, the writer of this piece would look at why majority of Ghanaians prefer Chinese products to others in the market even though they are considered inferior.
Grab your copy of Daily Guide next week and read this interesting article, which is being supported by Panos Institute of West Africa (PIWA).
E-mail:felixklutse@yahoo.com
Blog: www.klutsespots.com
Chinese have gradually taken over the African market with a primary focus on the textiles industry where the growth of its exports constitute a double agony for Africa.
Exports of Chinese textiles to Africa are especially undermining local African industries while the growth of Chinese exports to the United States is shutting down the promising growth of African exports.
In Ghana, the textile industry continues to face challenges, amid growing competition from cheap imports from China.
A source told CITY & BUSINESS GUIDE that apart from Akosombo Textile Limited (ATL), which is operating fully, household names such as Ghana Textile Print (GTP) and Printex have all shut down their spinning and weaving departments due to cheap imports from China.
These sections employed a chunk of the labour in the industry. However, the companies could no longer afford to accommodate these numbers and pay over 30 times the amount of cheap imports from China.
Textiles that come from China do not only carry the designs of Ghanaian cloths, but are imitated to let them appear as if they were produced in Ghana. Although the Chinese textiles are not durable, compared to made-in-Ghana cloth, they sell far below Ghanaian textiles.
Consequently, most retailers of local textile companies such as ATL, Printex, and Ghana Textiles Prints (GTP) are said to have abandoned the local cloth and are now selling wax prints from China, which is far cheaper.
Due to the hardships, the companies have all resorted to the importation of gray baft and semi-finished cloth for printing in the country.
Industry watchers are thinking about the fate of tertiary graduates who pursue Industrial Art programmes with textile option on the labour market as the sector faces imminent collapse. No wonder students now opt for business programmes at the tertiary level rather than technical courses.
Some members of the Textile, Garments and Leather Employees Union (TEGLEU) recently revealed that the problems with Ghana’s textile industry still existed and were getting worse each day.
They argued that there was the need for government to find out why the sector is collapsing and why Ghana cannot compete with China in order to find lasting solutions rather than taking a defeatist approach.
Though stakeholders in the country have made frantic efforts to revitalize the textile and garment industry, this seems to have hit the rocks since the economy is recording a rapid surge in the sale of fake logos and designs of Chinese textile firms on the market.
A worker at Gregory Knitting, George Annan told this paper that “we in the clothing and manufacturing sector are seeing shocking times. Sales in 2003 were reasonable; they were better in 2004, but very bad since 2005 to date.”
Mr. Annan wondered how some Chinese inferior products get to the local market.
“Who allow them into the country?” he questioned.
Industry watchers are worried that if the flood gates are opened for the Chinese textiles to saturate the Ghanaian market, then the industry will totally collapse.
They contended that current situation had made it difficult for local producers of textile to sustain production levels and to operate profitably.
They believe that the dwindling fortunes can be addressed if the state strengthens agencies such as the Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) to intensify border patrols. They further suggested that port operations should be tightened to ensure that cheap imports do not slip in.
But how well and soon will the authorities respond to the calls that remain an issue of concern to industry players whose hope of continued survival in the business depend on it.
With regards to the construction industry, Chinese firms are winning important public works due to the very competitive prices that they offer.
China won a contract to build the Bui Dam, the Burma Hall Complex in Accra, one wing of the 37th military hospital, among other projects. However, the sad news is that the wages paid to the Ghanaian workers are below the minimum wage.
“One thing about China is that after they have given you funds for a project, they then bring in their own people to head managerial positions, leaving most Ghanaians to do the menial jobs.
“The issue of technology and skill transfer is not working,” a worker at Bui Dam, who pleaded anonymity, told this paper in a telephone interview.
Apart from the textile industry, investigation shows that Chinese investors have succeeded in flooding the African market with food, beverages and tobacco products in addition to minerals, animal, vegetable oils, wax and chemical products and machinery. These goods are not so different from the one from the United States.
Chinese investors, most of whom have registered with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) as manufacturers, have metamorphosed into retailers, serving as conduits for the massive importation of Chinese products into Ghana.
A Research Consultant with the Ghana Trade Union Congress (GTUC), Kwabena Nyarko Otoo, told this paper in Accra last week that Chinese investors deliberately register as manufacturers to evade the payment of requisite fees for foreign retailers, placing the blame at the doorstep of the Inspectorate Division of GIPC and Registrar-General’s Department.
He described the approach of both institutions as sluggish and ineffective.
Mr Otoo stated that investigations by his outfit on some of the registered Chinese manufacturers revealed that they were no more manufacturers, stressing, “A call to a Chinese manufacturer who has registered with GIPC as a mattress manufacturer showed that he was in serious retail with about five indigenous staff.
“Another visit to a company at Tema also revealed the expatriate was not into manufacturing and had only 3 workers.”
According to Kwasi Adu Amankwa, Secretary General of Africa Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa), Government has failed over the years to properly interpret the Chinese language of Ghana’s business policies and code.
This, he explained, has led to the undue exploitation of indigenous people by Chinese employers. The minimum basic wage for indigenous staff of Chinese companies is GH¢3, while that of the Ghanaian worker is pegged at GH¢2 instead of GH¢2.655 as required by the law.
Should any indigene get sick or hurt by any machinery during work, the Chinese employers ask them to seek for treatment at their own cost and pay the salaries of indisposed workers based on how many days they have worked.
K.F Young, a Chinese national working with the Ghana Judicial Service told this paper that his people come to Ghana with the aim of doing business.
“Chinese produce more than what they need; hence there is the need to export what is left,” he stated.
In Nigeria, Vanguard Newspaper reported that two 220,000 workers in the textile industry have lost their jobs in the past 10 years due to the closure of factories as a result of imports from China.
80 percent of the affected workers have since taken to the riding of commercial motorcycles, popularly called “okada,” the report stated.
The Director General of Nigeria Textile Manufacturing Association (NTMA), Jolaoso Olarewaju, said between 1996 and 2006, the number of employees on the association’s employment data had reduced from 250,000 to less than 30,000.
He said within the period under review, the numbers of closed textile companies namely Kaduna Textile Mill, UNT PLC, Supertex, Enpee, Afprint, among others also fell to 40 from 175, while cumulative production dropped from 1.5 billion to less than 400 million metres of fabrics per year.
Mr Olarewaju attributed most of the problems affecting operators in the sector to smuggling, faking and counterfeiting of locally made fabrics by the Chinese.
Low cost imports from China have largely devastated the Nigerian textile and other consumer industries at Kano and Kaduna.
Given Nigeria’s underdevelopment and unreliable power supply, which forces most industries to rely on back-up diesel generators, the prospect of the country in regaining a competitive edge seems remote.
South Africa is another country that provides a good example. Reports say Chinese exports of textiles to South Africa grew from 40 percent of clothing imports to 80 percent by the end of 2004.
Out of 100 T-shirts imported into South Africa, 80 were from China. From 1996 to date, employment in the textile industry had decreased. By the end of 2002, reports revealed that 75,000 had lost their jobs in the industry.
South Africa’s clothing exports to the United States also dropped from $26 million in the first quarter of 2004 to $12 million for the first quarter of 2005 due to growing competition from cheap imports from China.
The situation has compelled South African industrialists and workers to clamour for protective action, which was also joined by church leaders and opposition leader, Tony Leon.
The country’s trade union federation is also calling for a restriction on Chinese imports, urging retailers to stock 75 percent of locally made goods. Industry players are also calling for customs officials to impound undervalued Chinese imports.
In Lesotho, more than 10 clothing factories were closed down in 2005, throwing at least 10,000 employees out of work due to the growing competition from cheap imports from China.
Though China has been forthcoming in providing assistance and investment in Africa with few strings and considerable cash, it has equally been firm in defending its export policies.
The interesting thing is that while some people want African Governments to restrict or ban the import of non-essential commodity from China; others think otherwise.
China’s Economic and Commercial Counselor in South Africa, Wen Jiabao warned Africans recently that “unfair and discriminative restrictions will never be accepted by China.”
He pointed out that China was within its rights under the WTO and had invested carefully during the last 10 years to become efficient and competitive.
“Thanks to the arduous efforts over the years, the Chinese textiles and clothing industry managed to sharpen its international competitive edge and gained the comparative advantages its now enjoys,” Wen Jiabao stated.
He added that even if African countries placed restrictions on Chinese goods, they would not be able to control the substitute flow of goods from India and Pakistan. The solution, he said, was for Africa to adopt a “positive attitude.
The Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sal Doe Amegashie, told the media recently in Accra that a ban would not solve the problem.
“China is the economy of today and tomorrow and Africans must learn from them. We need to send people to China to learn about their work ethics, among other things,” he suggested.
The question then is does China want to be seen in Africa as the defender of rogue states and an aggressive seeker of Africa’s natural resources without regard to transparency, development and stability ?
Is there room for developing some rules in which Chinese economic gains for Africa and itself can come side by side?
The writer of this piece suggests that it is better to explore these possibilities than to start down the path of trying to limit Chinese influence.
Next week, the writer of this piece would look at why majority of Ghanaians prefer Chinese products to others in the market even though they are considered inferior.
Grab your copy of Daily Guide next week and read this interesting article, which is being supported by Panos Institute of West Africa (PIWA).
E-mail:felixklutse@yahoo.com
Blog: www.klutsespots.com
Friday, September 25, 2009
The Freedom of Information and the Whistleblowers Act 2006
Introduction
- breaches or likely breaches of the law;
- miscarriages of justice;
- environmental degradation;
- endangerment of individual and community health and safety; and
- Waste, appropriation or mismanagement of public resources.
Brief Background of the Act
The Freedom of Information and the Whistleblowers Act protects whistleblowers against victimization in any form including: dismissal, suspension, redundancy, denial of promotion, unfair transfer, harassment, intimidation, threats and discrimination.
The Act has made provision to reward whistleblowers whose disclosures would lead to the arrest and conviction of a person or the discovery of misappropriated money.
The Act forms part of the need to reduce corruption in order to achieve the necessary poverty reduction, meet the Millennium Development Goals and move
The act is also enacted to provide for the manner in which individuals may in the public interest disclose information that relates to unlawful, corrupt or other illegal conduct or practices in the country.
It further ensured that persons who make the disclosures are not subjected to victimization, recognizes that corrupt and other illegal conduct in the organs of State, the private sector and other institutions in society undermines efficiency, accountability and transparency in governance and good corporate practice. The Whistleblower's bill was passed by Parliament and given assent on 20th October 2006.
The act is the culmination of stakeholder consultations and lobbying by civil society groups to enhance probity and accountability in the use of government resources. It outlines the instances and processes through which employees can disclose information on the illegal conduct or corrupt actions of their employers or fellow employees without fear of retribution.
The law allows the whistleblower to disclose the misuse of public funds to various groups. Consequently, the whistleblower is presented with several options on whom to disclose the information to. These include:
- the whistleblower’s employer;
- a police officer;
- the attorney general;
- the auditor general;
- a staff member of the intelligence agencies;
- a member of Parliament;
- the Serious Fraud Office;
- the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice;
- the National Media Commission;
- the Narcotics Control Board;
- a traditional chief;
- a minister of state; or
- the Office of the President.
Where a disclosure is made to any of these persons or institutions, the recipient of the information must investigate the matter or refer it to the attorney general or other body as directed by the attorney general, who will initiate an investigation into the disclosure.
Protection and Immunity
A whistleblower is not liable to civil or criminal proceedings in respect of the disclosure unless it is proven that the whistleblower knew that the disclosure was false or that it was made with malicious intent. Additionally, a provision in an employment contract or other agreement between an employer and an employee is void if it seeks to preclude or discourage an employee from making a disclosure, instituting a court action or claiming a remedy for victimization.
Relevance to Corporate Governance
The whistleblower’s role in strengthening public sector corporate governance cannot be overemphasized. It provides a check on the actions of persons charged with the management of institutions that use public funds. Recent financial scandals - including the infamous Enron disaster - speak volumes about the importance of whistle blowing in ensuring accountability and good governance.
In
Comment
The law makes significant inroads into corporate governance but in a culture where telling tales on others is highly frowned upon, the law can have its desired effect only if the public conscience is alerted to the need for vigilance and public sector accountability and, ultimately, if people are prepared to blow the whistle on wrongdoing.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Sexual Harrassment Rocks Corporate Institutions
By Felix Dela Klutse
Sex seems to have eaten so much into the fabric of the Ghanaian society as sexual harassment in corporate institutions continue to remain high in the country with prospective female job applicants said to be the most affected.
A report from the Centre for Social Policy Studies, University of Ghana sometime back revealed that 74 percent of female employees and 42 percent of male employees in Ghana experienced sexual harassment in one way or the other within their working environment.
BUSINESS GUIDE’s recent survey in some corporate institutions also revealed that sexual pestering was still high in corporate Ghana as the problem appears to exist in large multinational, medium and small firms.
It cut across the banking, telecommunication, media and advertising and the aviation industry which tends to be very attractive and enticing to work.
In one of the ministries, the situation seems to be bad as a female young graduate expressed high concerns about the way senior officials pester young women for sex.
Victims of sexual harassment in separate interviews with BUSINESS GUIDE on condition of anonymity pointed out that it violates and impairs or nullifies their human rights and freedom.
"We try to avert the pressures but unfortunately we are not able to withstand it when it becomes so severe," a broadcast journalist with one of the leading radio stations in Accra told this paper."
I receive calls sometimes at midnight which I consider very strange, she asserted.
Another victim, who is presently out of job explained that she was forced to quit her front desk executive job because of persistent harassment by his overall boss.
According to the report, female employees between the ages of 21 and 25, were the group that largely experience sexual molesting in the workplace but it appears in recent times the ages of 25to 30 have not been left out. Over two-thirds of the perpetrators of the sexual harassment in the offices are males.
Though women generally are the frequent victims of sexual harassment in the workplace, the more frequent victims are specifically the single or unmarried women, the Centre for Social Policy Studies report added.
Young men are also said to receive sexual favours or molestation from their female superiors or bosses just to sleep with them. And these women, the paper’s sources say do not get much sexual satisfaction from their husbands.
Most at times, there are unwanted touching of intimate body parts, unwanted repeated proposals, unwanted sexual teasing and jokes, as well as questions or remarks about things related to sex.
This paper gathers that prospective female employees do everything possible to the extent of going to bed with their male superiors with the promise that they would be granted jobs after interview. Others who find themselves into the organization also play the sensual game to get favors leading to promotion. This result in excellent personnel being overlooked when they go for interview, a situation which could affect the productivity of the company.
Augustine Kobina Andoh, Senior Organizer for at the Centre for Social Policy Studies, University of Ghana, who led the research, explained that married male superiors/employers are the most frequent perpetrators of workplace sexual harassment. About 68 percent of the male perpetrators are married holding influential positions while the other group happens to be colleagues.
He emphasized: "Although sexual harassment is very prevalent in Ghana, a greater majority of the victims do not formally report their experiences to management or superiors for redress." About 95 percent of the cases go unreported, he added.
Currently, there is no national definition of sexual harassment though the Domestic Violence Act has a clause explaining the illegitimacy of it while the Ghana business code also frowns on it.
E-mail: felixklutse@yahoo.com
Sex seems to have eaten so much into the fabric of the Ghanaian society as sexual harassment in corporate institutions continue to remain high in the country with prospective female job applicants said to be the most affected.
A report from the Centre for Social Policy Studies, University of Ghana sometime back revealed that 74 percent of female employees and 42 percent of male employees in Ghana experienced sexual harassment in one way or the other within their working environment.
BUSINESS GUIDE’s recent survey in some corporate institutions also revealed that sexual pestering was still high in corporate Ghana as the problem appears to exist in large multinational, medium and small firms.
It cut across the banking, telecommunication, media and advertising and the aviation industry which tends to be very attractive and enticing to work.
In one of the ministries, the situation seems to be bad as a female young graduate expressed high concerns about the way senior officials pester young women for sex.
Victims of sexual harassment in separate interviews with BUSINESS GUIDE on condition of anonymity pointed out that it violates and impairs or nullifies their human rights and freedom.
"We try to avert the pressures but unfortunately we are not able to withstand it when it becomes so severe," a broadcast journalist with one of the leading radio stations in Accra told this paper."
I receive calls sometimes at midnight which I consider very strange, she asserted.
Another victim, who is presently out of job explained that she was forced to quit her front desk executive job because of persistent harassment by his overall boss.
According to the report, female employees between the ages of 21 and 25, were the group that largely experience sexual molesting in the workplace but it appears in recent times the ages of 25to 30 have not been left out. Over two-thirds of the perpetrators of the sexual harassment in the offices are males.
Though women generally are the frequent victims of sexual harassment in the workplace, the more frequent victims are specifically the single or unmarried women, the Centre for Social Policy Studies report added.
Young men are also said to receive sexual favours or molestation from their female superiors or bosses just to sleep with them. And these women, the paper’s sources say do not get much sexual satisfaction from their husbands.
Most at times, there are unwanted touching of intimate body parts, unwanted repeated proposals, unwanted sexual teasing and jokes, as well as questions or remarks about things related to sex.
This paper gathers that prospective female employees do everything possible to the extent of going to bed with their male superiors with the promise that they would be granted jobs after interview. Others who find themselves into the organization also play the sensual game to get favors leading to promotion. This result in excellent personnel being overlooked when they go for interview, a situation which could affect the productivity of the company.
Augustine Kobina Andoh, Senior Organizer for at the Centre for Social Policy Studies, University of Ghana, who led the research, explained that married male superiors/employers are the most frequent perpetrators of workplace sexual harassment. About 68 percent of the male perpetrators are married holding influential positions while the other group happens to be colleagues.
He emphasized: "Although sexual harassment is very prevalent in Ghana, a greater majority of the victims do not formally report their experiences to management or superiors for redress." About 95 percent of the cases go unreported, he added.
Currently, there is no national definition of sexual harassment though the Domestic Violence Act has a clause explaining the illegitimacy of it while the Ghana business code also frowns on it.
E-mail: felixklutse@yahoo.com
Overcoming Flight Phobia
By Felix Dela Klutse
Traveling is part of day to day human activities and the kind of business an individual does informs how often he travels either by air or other means of transportation.
Some people see traveling as adventure that should be carried out to widen their horizons, while others because of their business engagement and family visitation or vacation see traveling as unavoidable exercise.
However, it has been discovered that individual body system reacts to traveling in different ways which often leads to flying phobia. As people react to traveling on land which usually makes some travelers vomit on transit, air passengers also react to flying in various ways. The common syndrome of fear of flying is known as aviophobia.
Fear of flying according to experts is a different type of phobia or an indirect manifestation of one or more other phobias, such as claustrophobia (a fear of enclosed spaces) or acrophobia (a fear of heights). It is a symptom rather than a disease, and different causes may bring it about in different individuals.
This type of fear generates more interest as air travel is mostly unavoidable to people particularly business tycoons, leisure travelers and in professional contexts.
Investigation by BUSINESS GUIDE revealed that the fear is widespread, affecting a significant number of the Ghanaian population.
A fear of flying may stop somebody from going on vacations or visiting family and friends, and it can cripple the career of a business person by preventing him or her from traveling on work-related business.
Generally, some people systems react to flying which make them develop sudden display on board. These reactions include shivering, vomiting, ear blockage while symptoms of phobia on the other hands are breathlessness, excessive sweating, nausea, dry mouth, feeling sick, shaking, heart palpitations, inability to speak or think clearly, a fear of dying, becoming mad or losing control, a sensation of detachment from reality or a full blown anxiety attack, experts say.
Also, it has been found out that flights phobia can be in form of a simple fear for height, as the feeling of impracticality to personally pilot the aircraft, together with expectation of a bad.
According to specialists, flying phobia is more or less like a mental state, experienced by majority of the air passengers suffering from it. An alert produced by their mind that is directly associates with the word "plane" connects to a disaster or heartbreak.
In a state of panic, people becomes over-anxious and sensitive to any strange noises, feeling abnormal from their point of view, with fatal meaning, and suspiciously take whispering between the stewards and the plane engine sounds.
Recorded air crashes or lost of a fellow family members in past air mishap or even their personal involvement in some kind of accidents could sometimes informed the feeling in some individuals.
Osei Kweku, a student at the University of Ghana accused the media of being a major factor behind fear of flying, claiming that the media sensationalize airline crashes.
However, there is no basic medication against flights phobia, although taking some tranquilizers or drinking small dose of menthol flavored sweet can be an option - this may help to avoid the uncomfortable anxiety during a flight together with medical therapies that are known to treat hodophobia.
Some of the ways to avoid flights phobia includes according to experts include hypnotherapy, energy psychology, and neuro-linguistic programming.
Hypnotherapy, according to the aviation experts minimises the symptoms of travel phobia by reprogramming the existing thought patterns that are stored up in peoples’ subconscious, which brings about the fear.
Energy psychology is a new method of therapy that is compared to that of acupuncture and the needles. With energy psychology, the experts say a person with travel phobia will experience these benefits - thought patterns change fast, easily changed behaviors, and the person will easily develop skills and techniques that are useful to him for a lifetime.
Neuro-linguistic programming on the other hand works by changing the patient’s manner of creating reality.
It is better to recognize that travel phobia is an intense fear of something that poses no actual danger. Adults suffering from it realize that such fears are irrational. They often find out that facing it or even thinking about it brings a panic attack or severe anxiety.
Specialists usually advise passengers to ensure that they note what led to the first air phobia. It could be a strong jolting, long landing approach, or unscheduled landing.
As soon as the first fear trigger is detected, passengers are advised to answer a question such as "if all of the previous flights they have experienced went well, must this lead to a tragedy?"
It is further recommended by experts that the best way to overcome travel phobia is to fly more frequently as every successful flight operations will change into a positive notion that all the past air mishaps and accidents reported only happened as an exception rather than the true situations in the subsequent events.
Media are also urged to educate flying publics on flying phobia and shift from the horror way of reporting air catastrophes.
As travel phobia is a serious obstacle to daily life and traveling is unavoidable part of human existence, every person who suffers from this should be given every opportunity for treatment.
E-mail: felixklutse@yahoo.com
Traveling is part of day to day human activities and the kind of business an individual does informs how often he travels either by air or other means of transportation.
Some people see traveling as adventure that should be carried out to widen their horizons, while others because of their business engagement and family visitation or vacation see traveling as unavoidable exercise.
However, it has been discovered that individual body system reacts to traveling in different ways which often leads to flying phobia. As people react to traveling on land which usually makes some travelers vomit on transit, air passengers also react to flying in various ways. The common syndrome of fear of flying is known as aviophobia.
Fear of flying according to experts is a different type of phobia or an indirect manifestation of one or more other phobias, such as claustrophobia (a fear of enclosed spaces) or acrophobia (a fear of heights). It is a symptom rather than a disease, and different causes may bring it about in different individuals.
This type of fear generates more interest as air travel is mostly unavoidable to people particularly business tycoons, leisure travelers and in professional contexts.
Investigation by BUSINESS GUIDE revealed that the fear is widespread, affecting a significant number of the Ghanaian population.
A fear of flying may stop somebody from going on vacations or visiting family and friends, and it can cripple the career of a business person by preventing him or her from traveling on work-related business.
Generally, some people systems react to flying which make them develop sudden display on board. These reactions include shivering, vomiting, ear blockage while symptoms of phobia on the other hands are breathlessness, excessive sweating, nausea, dry mouth, feeling sick, shaking, heart palpitations, inability to speak or think clearly, a fear of dying, becoming mad or losing control, a sensation of detachment from reality or a full blown anxiety attack, experts say.
Also, it has been found out that flights phobia can be in form of a simple fear for height, as the feeling of impracticality to personally pilot the aircraft, together with expectation of a bad.
According to specialists, flying phobia is more or less like a mental state, experienced by majority of the air passengers suffering from it. An alert produced by their mind that is directly associates with the word "plane" connects to a disaster or heartbreak.
In a state of panic, people becomes over-anxious and sensitive to any strange noises, feeling abnormal from their point of view, with fatal meaning, and suspiciously take whispering between the stewards and the plane engine sounds.
Recorded air crashes or lost of a fellow family members in past air mishap or even their personal involvement in some kind of accidents could sometimes informed the feeling in some individuals.
Osei Kweku, a student at the University of Ghana accused the media of being a major factor behind fear of flying, claiming that the media sensationalize airline crashes.
However, there is no basic medication against flights phobia, although taking some tranquilizers or drinking small dose of menthol flavored sweet can be an option - this may help to avoid the uncomfortable anxiety during a flight together with medical therapies that are known to treat hodophobia.
Some of the ways to avoid flights phobia includes according to experts include hypnotherapy, energy psychology, and neuro-linguistic programming.
Hypnotherapy, according to the aviation experts minimises the symptoms of travel phobia by reprogramming the existing thought patterns that are stored up in peoples’ subconscious, which brings about the fear.
Energy psychology is a new method of therapy that is compared to that of acupuncture and the needles. With energy psychology, the experts say a person with travel phobia will experience these benefits - thought patterns change fast, easily changed behaviors, and the person will easily develop skills and techniques that are useful to him for a lifetime.
Neuro-linguistic programming on the other hand works by changing the patient’s manner of creating reality.
It is better to recognize that travel phobia is an intense fear of something that poses no actual danger. Adults suffering from it realize that such fears are irrational. They often find out that facing it or even thinking about it brings a panic attack or severe anxiety.
Specialists usually advise passengers to ensure that they note what led to the first air phobia. It could be a strong jolting, long landing approach, or unscheduled landing.
As soon as the first fear trigger is detected, passengers are advised to answer a question such as "if all of the previous flights they have experienced went well, must this lead to a tragedy?"
It is further recommended by experts that the best way to overcome travel phobia is to fly more frequently as every successful flight operations will change into a positive notion that all the past air mishaps and accidents reported only happened as an exception rather than the true situations in the subsequent events.
Media are also urged to educate flying publics on flying phobia and shift from the horror way of reporting air catastrophes.
As travel phobia is a serious obstacle to daily life and traveling is unavoidable part of human existence, every person who suffers from this should be given every opportunity for treatment.
E-mail: felixklutse@yahoo.com
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Rent Killing Ghanaians
Story By Felix Dela Klutse
Accra in particular is in the midst of an accommodation crisis, as house and land prices spiral out of control.
Non-resident Ghanaians and foreigners and even middle class Ghanaians struggle to get their first foot on the property ladder.For a country still aspiring, to reach an average per capita income of $1,000 by 2015, family houses in central Accra are typically going for around 100-times that figure.
Three-bedroom semi-detached houses in some areas in Accra are selling for $50,000, three-bedroom detached houses with garages for $75,000, and four-bedroom semi-detached with garages for $75,000 but even these are mostly going to non-resident Ghanaians.
Whilst several years ago, the average family-size, three-bedroom house in the Spintex Road area was selling for around $50,000 to $60,000, now the price is closer to $100,000. Uncompleted homes go for a fortune, as foreigners price Ghanaians out of the market, and accommodation shortages intensify.
Even modest houses in the Accra area are becoming increasingly unaffordable, on a price-to-income ratio. Since a lot of Ghanaians could not afford to buy houses, the only option for them is to rent which is also very expensive.
The housing crisis is currently threatening not only the sustainability of the projected economic growth but also the capacity of the government to confront challenges firmly.
The slow and agonizing pace of development in the Ghana’s housing sector underscores the vagueness of whatever policy incentive the government may lay claim to.
The private sector carries a fair share of blame for the failures in housing delivery too.
For instance, in spite of the perceived huge real estate boom, being developed around the country, there are still transparent evidence that the country’s housing deficit estimated to be at 500,000 still exist because the private sector has concentrated its attention on the development of very expensive properties.
The shortages in the housing sector in the country have therefore resulted into surging rents that most Ghanaians are experiencing.
According to a BUSINESS GUIDE’s recent rent survey in Accra, non-residential rents in some areas increased by about 150 percent, while that of the residential areas went up by over 180 percent this year.
The non-residential areas surveyed by this paper include Darkuman, Ordorkor, Awoshie and Weija, Latebiokwashie. The residential areas include GICEL Estate, Weija, Mcarthy Hill, Spintex Road, East Legon and Airport residential area.
During our survey, we had also found out that it takes between a month to five months to find an affordable apartment or flat in Accra. Low to middle income earners are mostly affected. These increases have been one of the key factors driving inflation to double digits.
Some of the residents in Accra this paper spoke to were of the view that the only way to get pressure out of the housing market is to get low cost housing developments up and complemented with reforms that will compel private sector interest to build, and increase supply.
“Besides, direct government intervention is also required to ease the pressure on rent,” most of them stated.
“Some may argue that we are in an open market and so rents could go one way under the current demand surge. But it is imperative that a restriction be imposed, enforced and monitored to avoid contravention until the country gets to a point where there is a semblance of balance,” Mustapha Ahmed, a resident of Mcarthy Hill and a staff of Vanguard Assurance has said.
Guy Boni, a teacher at Fadama Cluster of Schools and a resident of Darkuman said: “it is about the best time to take advantage of the favourable foreign investor sentiment towards the country which has been boosted by improved economic conditions.”
Ghana could take advantage of this momentum to drive a new record level of investment this year, particularly into the housing market, he added.
Meanwhile, government last year released 150 acres of land to a United States/Ghanaian partnership firm to construct 2,500 affordable housing units at Kpone, to be sold to civil servants, teachers and nurses on mortgage basis. These flats are of various types with some having one bed-room and others two bed-rooms.
The project, which together with those in Kumasi and Borteman in the Greater Accra Region, is being funded at a total cost of over $300 million, formed part of the drive by the government to reduce the country’s housing deficit, estimated at 500,000.
Government says it is constructing more than 3,000 housing units in various parts of the country to solve the housing problem.
This intervention is expected to help contribute greatly in reducing problem that plagued the housing sector.
E-mail: felixklutse@yahoo.com
Non-resident Ghanaians and foreigners and even middle class Ghanaians struggle to get their first foot on the property ladder.For a country still aspiring, to reach an average per capita income of $1,000 by 2015, family houses in central Accra are typically going for around 100-times that figure.
Three-bedroom semi-detached houses in some areas in Accra are selling for $50,000, three-bedroom detached houses with garages for $75,000, and four-bedroom semi-detached with garages for $75,000 but even these are mostly going to non-resident Ghanaians.
Whilst several years ago, the average family-size, three-bedroom house in the Spintex Road area was selling for around $50,000 to $60,000, now the price is closer to $100,000. Uncompleted homes go for a fortune, as foreigners price Ghanaians out of the market, and accommodation shortages intensify.
Even modest houses in the Accra area are becoming increasingly unaffordable, on a price-to-income ratio. Since a lot of Ghanaians could not afford to buy houses, the only option for them is to rent which is also very expensive.
The housing crisis is currently threatening not only the sustainability of the projected economic growth but also the capacity of the government to confront challenges firmly.
The slow and agonizing pace of development in the Ghana’s housing sector underscores the vagueness of whatever policy incentive the government may lay claim to.
The private sector carries a fair share of blame for the failures in housing delivery too.
For instance, in spite of the perceived huge real estate boom, being developed around the country, there are still transparent evidence that the country’s housing deficit estimated to be at 500,000 still exist because the private sector has concentrated its attention on the development of very expensive properties.
The shortages in the housing sector in the country have therefore resulted into surging rents that most Ghanaians are experiencing.
According to a BUSINESS GUIDE’s recent rent survey in Accra, non-residential rents in some areas increased by about 150 percent, while that of the residential areas went up by over 180 percent this year.
The non-residential areas surveyed by this paper include Darkuman, Ordorkor, Awoshie and Weija, Latebiokwashie. The residential areas include GICEL Estate, Weija, Mcarthy Hill, Spintex Road, East Legon and Airport residential area.
During our survey, we had also found out that it takes between a month to five months to find an affordable apartment or flat in Accra. Low to middle income earners are mostly affected. These increases have been one of the key factors driving inflation to double digits.
Some of the residents in Accra this paper spoke to were of the view that the only way to get pressure out of the housing market is to get low cost housing developments up and complemented with reforms that will compel private sector interest to build, and increase supply.
“Besides, direct government intervention is also required to ease the pressure on rent,” most of them stated.
“Some may argue that we are in an open market and so rents could go one way under the current demand surge. But it is imperative that a restriction be imposed, enforced and monitored to avoid contravention until the country gets to a point where there is a semblance of balance,” Mustapha Ahmed, a resident of Mcarthy Hill and a staff of Vanguard Assurance has said.
Guy Boni, a teacher at Fadama Cluster of Schools and a resident of Darkuman said: “it is about the best time to take advantage of the favourable foreign investor sentiment towards the country which has been boosted by improved economic conditions.”
Ghana could take advantage of this momentum to drive a new record level of investment this year, particularly into the housing market, he added.
Meanwhile, government last year released 150 acres of land to a United States/Ghanaian partnership firm to construct 2,500 affordable housing units at Kpone, to be sold to civil servants, teachers and nurses on mortgage basis. These flats are of various types with some having one bed-room and others two bed-rooms.
The project, which together with those in Kumasi and Borteman in the Greater Accra Region, is being funded at a total cost of over $300 million, formed part of the drive by the government to reduce the country’s housing deficit, estimated at 500,000.
Government says it is constructing more than 3,000 housing units in various parts of the country to solve the housing problem.
This intervention is expected to help contribute greatly in reducing problem that plagued the housing sector.
E-mail: felixklutse@yahoo.com
Mobile: 0243226596
Accra-Ghana
Curtailing Africa’s Hunger
Story By Felix Dela Klutse
Africa has the singular and tragic distinction of being the only place in the world where overall food security and livelihoods are deteriorating.
According to statistics from Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the number of Africans living below the poverty line ($1 per day) has increased by 50 per cent, over the last 15 years.
It is estimated that one-third of the continent’s population suffers from hunger and in the past five years alone, the number of underweight children in Africa has risen by about 12 per cent, AGRA added.
A root cause of this entrenched and deepening poverty is the fact that millions of small-scale farmers, majority of them who are women, cannot grow enough food to sustain their families, their communities, or their countries.
The challenges confronting Africa’s small-scale farmers start in the field and extend across the entire agricultural value chain. Most African farmers can neither access nor afford basic farm inputs.
High quality seeds, organic and mineral fertilisers needed to replenish depleted soils, and simple water management systems that allow farmers to deal with erratic rains are largely beyond their reach.
Furthermore, good roads are scarce, while strong market and finance systems are lacking.
Research from AGRA shows that since the early 1960s, Africa has gone from being a net food exporter to a net importer of food. Per capita food production has declined as the population growth rate of three per cent a year has outstripped the two per cent annual increase in food production.
In most modern economies, no lasting success has been achieved without first building a strong agricultural foundation.
Many global and national leaders have recognized the critical importance of agriculture to Africa’s development.
In his tenure as Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan called for a new “uniquely African Green Revolution that will help the continent in its quest for dignity and peace.”
Due to the afore-mentioned challenges, African leaders are calling for a revolution in agriculture that will enable the continent’s small-scale farmers to prosper. It is believed that through dramatic improvements to agriculture, prosperity can replace poverty in Africa.
To break the cycles of hunger and poverty in Africa, AGRA is responding to the cry of African leaders by building African-led partnerships that draw upon the knowledge of Africa’s farmers, apply the lessons of modern agriculture, and work across the agricultural value chain, while rigorously monitoring the impact in terms of equity and environmental sustainability.
Most importantly, AGRA believes strongly that small-scale farmers in Africa needed the support of government policies that promote sustainable and productive African agriculture and that ensure access to markets.
The African Union’s commitment to supporting its farmers by providing them not just with soil nutrients, but also with better transport, credit, seeds, irrigation facilities, extension services, and market information is also expected to boost agricultural production on the continent.
Today, ending the poverty and hunger of hundreds of millions of Africans requires a clear focus on improving the lives of small-scale farmers.
E-mail: felixklutse@yahoo.com
Mobile: 0243226596
Africa has the singular and tragic distinction of being the only place in the world where overall food security and livelihoods are deteriorating.
According to statistics from Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the number of Africans living below the poverty line ($1 per day) has increased by 50 per cent, over the last 15 years.
It is estimated that one-third of the continent’s population suffers from hunger and in the past five years alone, the number of underweight children in Africa has risen by about 12 per cent, AGRA added.
A root cause of this entrenched and deepening poverty is the fact that millions of small-scale farmers, majority of them who are women, cannot grow enough food to sustain their families, their communities, or their countries.
The challenges confronting Africa’s small-scale farmers start in the field and extend across the entire agricultural value chain. Most African farmers can neither access nor afford basic farm inputs.
High quality seeds, organic and mineral fertilisers needed to replenish depleted soils, and simple water management systems that allow farmers to deal with erratic rains are largely beyond their reach.
Furthermore, good roads are scarce, while strong market and finance systems are lacking.
Research from AGRA shows that since the early 1960s, Africa has gone from being a net food exporter to a net importer of food. Per capita food production has declined as the population growth rate of three per cent a year has outstripped the two per cent annual increase in food production.
In most modern economies, no lasting success has been achieved without first building a strong agricultural foundation.
Many global and national leaders have recognized the critical importance of agriculture to Africa’s development.
In his tenure as Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan called for a new “uniquely African Green Revolution that will help the continent in its quest for dignity and peace.”
Due to the afore-mentioned challenges, African leaders are calling for a revolution in agriculture that will enable the continent’s small-scale farmers to prosper. It is believed that through dramatic improvements to agriculture, prosperity can replace poverty in Africa.
To break the cycles of hunger and poverty in Africa, AGRA is responding to the cry of African leaders by building African-led partnerships that draw upon the knowledge of Africa’s farmers, apply the lessons of modern agriculture, and work across the agricultural value chain, while rigorously monitoring the impact in terms of equity and environmental sustainability.
Most importantly, AGRA believes strongly that small-scale farmers in Africa needed the support of government policies that promote sustainable and productive African agriculture and that ensure access to markets.
The African Union’s commitment to supporting its farmers by providing them not just with soil nutrients, but also with better transport, credit, seeds, irrigation facilities, extension services, and market information is also expected to boost agricultural production on the continent.
Today, ending the poverty and hunger of hundreds of millions of Africans requires a clear focus on improving the lives of small-scale farmers.
E-mail: felixklutse@yahoo.com
Mobile: 0243226596
Massive Unemployment Hits Ghana
Story By Felix Dela Klutse
Unemployment is one of the serious impediments to social progress in any nation. Apart from being a colossal waste of a country’s manpower resources, it generates welfare loss in terms of lower output thereby leading to lower income and well-being.
Currently, Ghana’s adult unemployment rate stands at about 20 per cent, while the youth unemployment rate, on the other hand is at 17 per cent, a Director of Youth Achievement Ghana who pleaded anonymity told this paper in Accra last Friday.
Last year, the World Factbook has said put the country’s unemployment figure at 20 per cent. The figure, according to Factbook was 11 per cent in 2000.
International Labour Organisation (ILO) defines unemployed as the numbers of the economically active population who are without work but available for and seeking work, including people who have lost their jobs and those who have voluntarily left work.
Ghana is endowed with enormous human and material resources but these resources have not been optimally utilized. Higher educational institutions in the country play crucial roles in generating the human capacities for leadership, management and technical expertise.
Unfortunately, Ghanaian employers normally complain about the quality of recent graduates while the graduates complain of lack of jobs.
These human resources have not been adequately channeled to profitable investments to bring about maximum economic benefits. As a result, Ghana has been bedeviled with unemployment and poverty. Ghana’s economic growth has not always been accompanied by decline in unemployment and poverty as one expected it to be.
It is actually not surprising that there are so many unemployed youths in Ghana though an environment conducive for employment has not been created by the government.
The protracted energy crisis in the country in 2007 has adversely affected the manufacturing sector. Among all the sectors of the economy, it is manufacturing that is the hardest hit. This is because the cost of running electricity generators increases the cost of production thereby making locally manufactured goods uncompetitive relative to imported products.
This has led to many companies closing shop because their products cannot compete with their imported counterparts. The situation has resulted in thousands of Ghanaians being thrown into the labour market.
Since it is not the duty of government to employ every employable individual, it has created an enabling environment for business to thrive. One would expect the private sector to use such an environment to create more jobs.
Besides manufacturing, agriculture is one sector that if properly developed and given the right policy mix, can suck thousands of youths out of unemployment. But instead of emphasis on agriculture, Ghana is importing food especially rice even when the country has the capacity to be a net exporter of food. Many unemployed people are not employable because they don’t have the requisite skills that can attract an employer.
Owing to the falling standard of education in the last few years, a number of companies are unwilling to employ fresh graduates of Ghanaian universities. Those that seek to recruit fresh graduates put in place measures to retrain them and bring them up to standard. Only few organisations can afford this extra cost.
The result is that some Ghanaian firms now advertise job vacancies on the internet for graduates trained in foreign universities to apply.
Government should also look into the quality of jobs provided. A situation where a university graduate is made to drive a tricycle, for instance, in the name of poverty alleviation calls for review. Where government provides jobs, it must be jobs that are sustainable, and not dehumanizing or demeaning.
A nation with majority of its youths unemployed is sitting on a keg of gun powder. Such unemployed people will ultimately become a menace to society as is currently the case.
Ghanaians are waiting for the new government promise of creating more jobs for the youth as stated in its manifesto.
Unemployment is one of the serious impediments to social progress in any nation. Apart from being a colossal waste of a country’s manpower resources, it generates welfare loss in terms of lower output thereby leading to lower income and well-being.
Currently, Ghana’s adult unemployment rate stands at about 20 per cent, while the youth unemployment rate, on the other hand is at 17 per cent, a Director of Youth Achievement Ghana who pleaded anonymity told this paper in Accra last Friday.
Last year, the World Factbook has said put the country’s unemployment figure at 20 per cent. The figure, according to Factbook was 11 per cent in 2000.
International Labour Organisation (ILO) defines unemployed as the numbers of the economically active population who are without work but available for and seeking work, including people who have lost their jobs and those who have voluntarily left work.
Ghana is endowed with enormous human and material resources but these resources have not been optimally utilized. Higher educational institutions in the country play crucial roles in generating the human capacities for leadership, management and technical expertise.
Unfortunately, Ghanaian employers normally complain about the quality of recent graduates while the graduates complain of lack of jobs.
These human resources have not been adequately channeled to profitable investments to bring about maximum economic benefits. As a result, Ghana has been bedeviled with unemployment and poverty. Ghana’s economic growth has not always been accompanied by decline in unemployment and poverty as one expected it to be.
It is actually not surprising that there are so many unemployed youths in Ghana though an environment conducive for employment has not been created by the government.
The protracted energy crisis in the country in 2007 has adversely affected the manufacturing sector. Among all the sectors of the economy, it is manufacturing that is the hardest hit. This is because the cost of running electricity generators increases the cost of production thereby making locally manufactured goods uncompetitive relative to imported products.
This has led to many companies closing shop because their products cannot compete with their imported counterparts. The situation has resulted in thousands of Ghanaians being thrown into the labour market.
Since it is not the duty of government to employ every employable individual, it has created an enabling environment for business to thrive. One would expect the private sector to use such an environment to create more jobs.
Besides manufacturing, agriculture is one sector that if properly developed and given the right policy mix, can suck thousands of youths out of unemployment. But instead of emphasis on agriculture, Ghana is importing food especially rice even when the country has the capacity to be a net exporter of food. Many unemployed people are not employable because they don’t have the requisite skills that can attract an employer.
Owing to the falling standard of education in the last few years, a number of companies are unwilling to employ fresh graduates of Ghanaian universities. Those that seek to recruit fresh graduates put in place measures to retrain them and bring them up to standard. Only few organisations can afford this extra cost.
The result is that some Ghanaian firms now advertise job vacancies on the internet for graduates trained in foreign universities to apply.
Government should also look into the quality of jobs provided. A situation where a university graduate is made to drive a tricycle, for instance, in the name of poverty alleviation calls for review. Where government provides jobs, it must be jobs that are sustainable, and not dehumanizing or demeaning.
A nation with majority of its youths unemployed is sitting on a keg of gun powder. Such unemployed people will ultimately become a menace to society as is currently the case.
Ghanaians are waiting for the new government promise of creating more jobs for the youth as stated in its manifesto.
E-mail: felixklutse@yahoo.com
Mobile: 0243226596
Agony Of Ghanaian Livestock Dealers
Story By Felix Dela Klutse
There is no doubt that the livestock market is a major player in boosting agricultural development in Ghana but in recent times, the trade has suffered due to the high cost of transportation and non-patronage.
Animal sellers at the Kaneshie cow market in Accra spoke out after a long season in distress that resulted to a total decline in the sale of their stock, thereby throwing them into abject poverty.
BUSINESS GUIDE gathered that business activities have suffered because of non patronage. The traders are seen sitting idle in anticipation of buyers and even on arrival, the high price tag on the animals scare them away which has been worrisome to their business.
With the vast economic potentials and natural resources that the country is endowed with, animal dealers travel as far as to neighbouring countries like Niger, Chad, among others to buy animals. The dealers seldom buy from within towns because better animal breeds are found in the neighbouring countries.
In Ghana for example, what are obtained are the local breeds which are usually small in nature and of low quality compared to the ones imported.
Poverty, economic hardship coupled with high inflation has discouraged people considerably from patronizing the animal markets hence, the level of patronage is low.
Due to the situation, many dealers have been forced out of business for the fact that they cannot withstand the enormous challenge that has bedevilled livestock trade in the country.
Ibrahim Muntari noted that the business is very vital to the economy but government does not assist them by providing capital and due to the deteriorating state of the animal trade, a person who invests for instance GH¢20,000 may end up losing a high fraction of his capital.
“This is as a result of the huge cost at which we purchase the animals and the high transportation cost we normally battle with,” he stated.
Currently, a cow costs GH¢2,000 and the cost of transporting one cow from the North to Accra has increased from GH¢15 in April to GH¢30, Muntari added.
Muntari explained that the livestock business is a large employer of labour because of the high level of division of labour between various chains, ranging from the dealers to the butchers and finally to the meat sellers.
He said that due to the setback, many people have pulled out and vacated their stalls thereby triggering a pool of unemployed “army” of redundant people, who wait helplessly for God’s intervention.
He explained that lack of assistance from government has done more harm than good to this trade, which is very significant towards sustaining agricultural revolution in Ghana.
He challenged the government to proffer a lasting solution to livestock production so as to boost animal production, pointing that basic assistance in areas such as soft loans and huge investments should be in place to maintain a flourishing market in the country.
Another livestock dealer who gave his name as Saliu noted that the dealers mostly take loans to buy the animals and people seldom buy them with cash but rather collect on credit and it takes about seven to ten days to payback adding that the dealers encounter difficulties in transporting the livestock’s because they usually go to rural and remote communities to convey them.
According to him, the sellers are often exposed to disasters such as accidents, loss of lives and properties due to the dilapidated condition of the road networks in the country.
A cow seller, Mohammed Auwal Idris, lamented the low sales recorded in the market.
He maintained that the rise in food prices has impacted on the feeds of the animals thereby increasing the price of animals.
He explained that the market is not favourable as they are not often patronised due to persistent complains by people of economic hardship and the lack of money at their disposal.
However, Idris noted that the animal market is a seasonal market, because the market booms only during festive seasons leaving them in a difficult situation afterwards.
Another trader, Umar Mohammed, lamented that the sales are not comparable to sales recorded some years back.
“Even on market days, we suffer lack of patronage. Formerly, one can buy a cow on credit and pay the owner back after selling it but now the situation has changed. You got to pay in cash,” he cried.
E-mail:felixklutse@yahoo.com
Mobile: 0243226596
There is no doubt that the livestock market is a major player in boosting agricultural development in Ghana but in recent times, the trade has suffered due to the high cost of transportation and non-patronage.
Animal sellers at the Kaneshie cow market in Accra spoke out after a long season in distress that resulted to a total decline in the sale of their stock, thereby throwing them into abject poverty.
BUSINESS GUIDE gathered that business activities have suffered because of non patronage. The traders are seen sitting idle in anticipation of buyers and even on arrival, the high price tag on the animals scare them away which has been worrisome to their business.
With the vast economic potentials and natural resources that the country is endowed with, animal dealers travel as far as to neighbouring countries like Niger, Chad, among others to buy animals. The dealers seldom buy from within towns because better animal breeds are found in the neighbouring countries.
In Ghana for example, what are obtained are the local breeds which are usually small in nature and of low quality compared to the ones imported.
Poverty, economic hardship coupled with high inflation has discouraged people considerably from patronizing the animal markets hence, the level of patronage is low.
Due to the situation, many dealers have been forced out of business for the fact that they cannot withstand the enormous challenge that has bedevilled livestock trade in the country.
Ibrahim Muntari noted that the business is very vital to the economy but government does not assist them by providing capital and due to the deteriorating state of the animal trade, a person who invests for instance GH¢20,000 may end up losing a high fraction of his capital.
“This is as a result of the huge cost at which we purchase the animals and the high transportation cost we normally battle with,” he stated.
Currently, a cow costs GH¢2,000 and the cost of transporting one cow from the North to Accra has increased from GH¢15 in April to GH¢30, Muntari added.
Muntari explained that the livestock business is a large employer of labour because of the high level of division of labour between various chains, ranging from the dealers to the butchers and finally to the meat sellers.
He said that due to the setback, many people have pulled out and vacated their stalls thereby triggering a pool of unemployed “army” of redundant people, who wait helplessly for God’s intervention.
He explained that lack of assistance from government has done more harm than good to this trade, which is very significant towards sustaining agricultural revolution in Ghana.
He challenged the government to proffer a lasting solution to livestock production so as to boost animal production, pointing that basic assistance in areas such as soft loans and huge investments should be in place to maintain a flourishing market in the country.
Another livestock dealer who gave his name as Saliu noted that the dealers mostly take loans to buy the animals and people seldom buy them with cash but rather collect on credit and it takes about seven to ten days to payback adding that the dealers encounter difficulties in transporting the livestock’s because they usually go to rural and remote communities to convey them.
According to him, the sellers are often exposed to disasters such as accidents, loss of lives and properties due to the dilapidated condition of the road networks in the country.
A cow seller, Mohammed Auwal Idris, lamented the low sales recorded in the market.
He maintained that the rise in food prices has impacted on the feeds of the animals thereby increasing the price of animals.
He explained that the market is not favourable as they are not often patronised due to persistent complains by people of economic hardship and the lack of money at their disposal.
However, Idris noted that the animal market is a seasonal market, because the market booms only during festive seasons leaving them in a difficult situation afterwards.
Another trader, Umar Mohammed, lamented that the sales are not comparable to sales recorded some years back.
“Even on market days, we suffer lack of patronage. Formerly, one can buy a cow on credit and pay the owner back after selling it but now the situation has changed. You got to pay in cash,” he cried.
E-mail:felixklutse@yahoo.com
Mobile: 0243226596
Electricity & Water Bills Up?
Stroy By: Felix Dela Klutse
TWO UTILITY service providers, namely the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and Ghana Water Company Limited are calling for adjustment in their tariffs.
Ing. Gabriel Gbadago, acting Director of Operations of ECG, told Business Guide at a forum organised by Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) in Accra last week that the adjustment was needed to enable his outfit upgrade and improve the lifespan of distribution facilities.
“We are asking for tariff adjustment at this time because the cost of supply as well as ECG operating expenses has gone up. We also need to expand the distribution facilities to give access to Ghanaians who currently cannot access electricity supply,” Ing. Gbadago explained.
Kweku Botwe, acting Managing Director of Ghana Water Company Limited, on his part, said the adjustment would help his outfit stabilize water delivery in the country.
In spite of the foregoing, Stephen Adu, Executive Secretary of the PURC has said the adjustment would be based on performance.
Mr Adu emphasised: “We demand that standard performance should be met by the utility service providers. Any provider who fails to meet PURC’s target will face penalty.”
Mr Adu emphasised: “We demand that standard performance should be met by the utility service providers. Any provider who fails to meet PURC’s target will face penalty.”
He added that one of the penalties for bad service for instance could be slashing down on tariff of a particular utility service provider.
Fredinand Tey, an executive of the Consumers Association of Ghana, in an interview told this paper that he is not in favour of the proposed tariff adjustment.
He stated: “Tariff adjustment should not be an annual ritual. I believe tariff adjustment must lead to improved services but this has not been so over the past.”
He stated: “Tariff adjustment should not be an annual ritual. I believe tariff adjustment must lead to improved services but this has not been so over the past.”
The electricity sector has seen phenomenal growth of between eight and 10.4 percent annual increase in demand over the past ten years, but there has not been a corresponding investment in generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure.
The growth in the sector means that ECG would have to double its capacity every 10 years to bring adequate and reliable power supply to its customers. But the reality is that the company has not been able to expand capacity to meet the growing demand. This inability, according to the company, resulted from lack of funds to invest in the expansion of ECG’s infrastructure, tracing it wholly to the inadequacy of the tariff that ECG customers have paid for services rendered.
The existing infrastructure is being stretched to cater for the growing number of customers and this has led to a situation where most of the network is overloaded, thereby resulting in a number of unplanned power outages.
ECG said it needs $991 million over the next five years to effectively improve power supply in the country.
ECG said it needs $991 million over the next five years to effectively improve power supply in the country.
Water supply in Ghana’s cities and regional capitals has been a major problem for years, but has worsened over the past two decades due to poor urban development, population growth and GCWL’s decrepit facilities and unsound management practices.
Attempts to reverse the situation, including a $140 million project to improve the system in 1989, failed to get the taps running. Most homes in the country have water tanks to store water because the taps could only run for a few hours for two or three days a week.
In some parts of Accra, such as Teshie-Nungua, Madina and Adenta, residents pay between GHp50 and GH¢1 per bucket of four gallons from private suppliers.
Recently, the National Coalition against Privatization of Water (NCAP) organized a picket at the entrance of the Aqua Vitens Rand Limited (AVRL) in reaction to the ongoing water shortage in the country.Alhassan Adam, Coordinator of the Southern Sector of NCAP, said though AVRL has been given the mandate to produce and distribute water and also repair and maintain the distribution system, it has not been able to work to expectation.
Recently, the National Coalition against Privatization of Water (NCAP) organized a picket at the entrance of the Aqua Vitens Rand Limited (AVRL) in reaction to the ongoing water shortage in the country.Alhassan Adam, Coordinator of the Southern Sector of NCAP, said though AVRL has been given the mandate to produce and distribute water and also repair and maintain the distribution system, it has not been able to work to expectation.
E-mail: felixklutse@yahoo.com
Mobile: 0243226596
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