Mr. Jai Mirchandani, Chief Executive Officer of Avnash Industries
Ghana Limited – the country’s most formidable agro-industrial processing
company, has said it is ready to invest over US$100million into
government’s One District, One Factory (1D, 1F) policy to ensure its
success.
“We are investing over US$100million from next year. I strongly
believe in the President’s vision in the One District, One Factory and
the Planting for Food and Jobs policies. The President has the right
vision and we want to be the anchor company for the policy,” he said.
Avnash Industries Ghana Limited, producer of Golden drop edible oil,
has so far invested almost US$150million from 2007 into its
agro-business operations and is aimed at adding value to the country’s
agricultural produce and creating employment for wealth-creation.
The company is well known for its businesses in edible oil, rice,
soaps and detergents, shea butter, liquors, beer, whiskey and its
variants, biscuits and allied products, packing and branding of its
products – including PET and hard plastic containers. It established a
rice-mill in Tamale with a capacity of 450mt per day. It is a fully
automated mill of Buhler make, capable of milling par-boiled and brown
rice.
Mr. Mirchandani told this to B&FT on the sidelines of the maiden
Malaysia-Ghana Palm Oil Trade Fair and Seminar (POTS), which came off in
Accra.
Making a presentation under the topic ‘Branding the Oil Palm Value Chain in Ghana: Avnash’s Experiences’, Mr. Mirchandani charged the country to adopt successful oil palm models to help upscale the sector’s production volumes.
He said: “We need to leverage on models to scale-up the crop’s
production and to improve the production volumes. We need to work within
the local environment, we need to adopt models that have been
successful locally”.
Mr. Mirchandani explained that: “We have been thinking about the development of agriculture from the perspective of others.
“We have been looking at a paradigm incorrectly, because we have
tried to take models of where it has been successful like America and
Malaysia.”
He explained that the focus of Avnash is to be the anchor of the
agricultural industrialisation renaissance of Ghana by focusing on
investments in the agro-processing sector to provide ready markets for
both commercial and smallholder farmers.
Available data show that in just the first three quarters of 2017,
Ghana imported 213,000 tonnes of palm oil from Malaysia – valued at
US$149.1million and representing more than 70 percent of the commodity’s
total imports within the period.
The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC), an organisation that promotes
the market expansion of Malaysian palm oil and its products, sees the
Ghanaian market as a growing one and is targetting even more exports –
particularly for the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry.
The 2017 import figure represents an almost 10 percent increase on
the 2016 import of 203,000 tonnes, and the Southeast Asia economic giant
is targetting a 20 percent increase by the end of 2017; and up to
300,000 tonnes, estimated at US$210million, by 2018.
The nation’s annual demand for oil and fat is 680,000 tonnes while local
production hovers around 480,000 tonnes, leaving the gap of 200,000
tonnes to be filled by imports.
Dato’ Lee Yeow Chor, Chairman of Malaysia’s Palm Oil Council,
explained that West Africa’s growing population and economy naturally
means the per capita consumption of vegetable oil will increase.
Mr. Chor stated that Malaysian companies are ready to enter joint
venture agreements with local palm oil companies to produce the products
locally.
“Malaysian companies have entered into agreements with companies in
Indonesia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Columbia and others, and we are
looking at deals like that here. We are hoping to discuss incentives and
government policies on establishing palm oil processing companies,” he
added.
Mr. Chor noted that: “Ghana is one of Malaysia’s biggest trading
partners in this region, with the total trade between the two countries
registering US$337million in 2016”.
Commenting on the trade relationship between Malaysia and Africa, Mr.
Chor said Malaysia considers the West African market as an important
destination for Malaysian palm oil.
“In recent years, there has been a significant upward trend of
Malaysian palm oil exports into this region. Last year, Malaysia
exported about one million tonnes of palm oil to all countries in the
West African region,” he said.
Speakers at the seminar included renowned local industry captains and
international experts from Malaysia, Ghana and the UK. The papers
covered topics on oils and fats – ranging from market outlook and trade
to oil palm planting and the logistics situation in Africa – and
attracted over 300 participants from both Malaysia and Ghana.
Participants from Malaysia took the opportunity to tour the 500mt per
day edible oil refinery of Avnash Industries Ghana Limited to acquaint
themselves with operations of the company.
The team visited various departments including the laboratory, production and refinery plants located at the Tema Port.
Thursday, December 21, 2017
New application to detect ghost names ready
The Public Services Commission (PSC) is hopeful of extending its
Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS) project to all
Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) by end of year, to
completely expunge ghost names from government payroll.
“The HRMIS system, when fully operational, will reduce the possibility of ghost names or people being paid double; because the system has restrictions that will not allow entry of invalid data or names of people who were not working, which will save money that could be used for the nation’s socioeconomic development,” said Dr. Lawrence Kannae, Vice Chairman of the Commission.
Dr. Kannae was speaking at an HRMIS training workshop for MDAs in Accra, aimed at providing end-users of the HRMIS system with requisite skills to operate it before full deployment later this year.
He said: “We hope that by the end of this year we would have trained 1,028 staff, mainly from the human resource, budget and accounting classes of the public service, to ensure an efficient public financial management.
“This is what is being rolled out now, and we hope that by the end of this year we will extend it to all the 120-public service organisations that are on government payroll.”
Dr. Kannae explained that the HRMIS will enable information about human resources to be linked to the payroll and subsequently with the budget, so that it will facilitate effective and efficient public financial management.
He said it will also help reduce the time required for processing documents of newly-recruited staff, and issues like promotions and updates of human resources in the various public sector organisations.
The system should reduce the time required for newly-recruited employees to obtain their first pay within a very reasonable period.
He said when the HRMIS becomes fully operational, newly-recruited government workers will be able to have their first salaries within a maximum period of two months, once their data information is captured onto the system.
“Probably, if it is initiated at an early part of the month, that employee can get his or her first pay at the end of the same month. But at maximum, within two months they should be able to get their first pay – which is better than what exists now, where a new employee may take three to six months; and even, in some cases, one year before they receive their first salary,” he said.
He explained that they were training the rest of the public services agencies and preparing them in batches to be enrolled onto the system.
Dr. Mohammed Sani Abdulai, the Project Director, Public Financial Management Reforms Project (PFMRP), urged human resource managers of the MDAs to ensure the HRMIS succeeds.
The HRMIS falls under component-two of the PFMRP and seeks to focus on completing the establishment registers for the remaining government workforce; and completing the rollout of the HRMIS core application, including establishment, profile and cost management, to enhance its coverage to all MDAs, services, commissions and all 10 regions.
The rationale for the HRMIS is to establish a comprehensive, common human resource database of all public service employees, with the view to strengthening controls around entrance, exit promotions, and positions across the various service groups.
The PFMRP seeks to achieve improvement in budget management and financial control and reporting of government, with the aim of enhancing fiscal discipline, strategic allocation of resources and service delivery efficiency through strengthened systems and procedures, and targetted capacity-building.
“The HRMIS system, when fully operational, will reduce the possibility of ghost names or people being paid double; because the system has restrictions that will not allow entry of invalid data or names of people who were not working, which will save money that could be used for the nation’s socioeconomic development,” said Dr. Lawrence Kannae, Vice Chairman of the Commission.
Dr. Kannae was speaking at an HRMIS training workshop for MDAs in Accra, aimed at providing end-users of the HRMIS system with requisite skills to operate it before full deployment later this year.
He said: “We hope that by the end of this year we would have trained 1,028 staff, mainly from the human resource, budget and accounting classes of the public service, to ensure an efficient public financial management.
“This is what is being rolled out now, and we hope that by the end of this year we will extend it to all the 120-public service organisations that are on government payroll.”
Dr. Kannae explained that the HRMIS will enable information about human resources to be linked to the payroll and subsequently with the budget, so that it will facilitate effective and efficient public financial management.
He said it will also help reduce the time required for processing documents of newly-recruited staff, and issues like promotions and updates of human resources in the various public sector organisations.
The system should reduce the time required for newly-recruited employees to obtain their first pay within a very reasonable period.
He said when the HRMIS becomes fully operational, newly-recruited government workers will be able to have their first salaries within a maximum period of two months, once their data information is captured onto the system.
“Probably, if it is initiated at an early part of the month, that employee can get his or her first pay at the end of the same month. But at maximum, within two months they should be able to get their first pay – which is better than what exists now, where a new employee may take three to six months; and even, in some cases, one year before they receive their first salary,” he said.
He explained that they were training the rest of the public services agencies and preparing them in batches to be enrolled onto the system.
Dr. Mohammed Sani Abdulai, the Project Director, Public Financial Management Reforms Project (PFMRP), urged human resource managers of the MDAs to ensure the HRMIS succeeds.
The HRMIS falls under component-two of the PFMRP and seeks to focus on completing the establishment registers for the remaining government workforce; and completing the rollout of the HRMIS core application, including establishment, profile and cost management, to enhance its coverage to all MDAs, services, commissions and all 10 regions.
The rationale for the HRMIS is to establish a comprehensive, common human resource database of all public service employees, with the view to strengthening controls around entrance, exit promotions, and positions across the various service groups.
The PFMRP seeks to achieve improvement in budget management and financial control and reporting of government, with the aim of enhancing fiscal discipline, strategic allocation of resources and service delivery efficiency through strengthened systems and procedures, and targetted capacity-building.
‘Cocoa is key ingredient for Cadbury Chocolate’
The General Manager of Cadbury Cocoa World, Mr. Gerrard Baldwin, has
described the country’s cocoa as best quality and a key ingredient of
Cadbury chocolates and other confectioneries.
Mr. Baldwin said that about 25% of cocoa used for making Cadbury chocolates is sourced from Ghana.
According to Baldwin, Cadbury World – through Mondelez Cocoa Life – has rolled out a US$400 million livelihood empowerment project in cocoa-growing communities of Africa as part of efforts to better the lot of cocoa farmers.
Mr. Baldwin made these remarks when five outstanding Ghanaian cocoa farmers visited Cadbury World at Bourneville as part of a two-week visit to the UK.
Mr. Baldwin used the farmer’s visit to walk them through the company’s operations and its recreational facilities, and commended the cocoa farmers for their efforts at improving the quality of cocoa produced — encouraging them to adopt modern technologies to make cocoa farming attractive for the younger generation.
Mr. Barnett Quaicoo, the Manager of Cocoa Marketing Company Ltd. UK, described Cadbury as one of the biggest trading partners in the UK that sources cocoa beans from Ghana Cocoa Board.
Mr. Quaicoo added that the choice of Cadbury for the farmer’s visit was to allow the farmers experience cocoa processing and interact with the buyers of their produce.
Mr. Noah Amenyah, the Senior Public Affairs Manager of Ghana Cocoa Board who accompanied the farmers, said the cocoa farmers produce an average of about 2,000kg per hectare.
Mr. Amenyah indicated that the farmers had maintained best agronomic and environmental conservation practices to produce best cocoa and emerge as award winners for the 2015 and 2016 cocoa seasons.
He said the trip will encourage other cocoa farmers to work harder to win similar awards.
The farmers are Nana Kweku Adu, 2015 National Best Cocoa Farmer; Nana Opoku Gyamfi, 2016 National Best Cocoa Farmer; and Madam Martha Addai, 2016 Most Enterprising Female Cocoa Farmer. The others are Nana Johnson Mensah, Western Regional Chief Farmer; and Nana Obeng Akrofi, Eastern Regional Chief Farmer.
Mr. Baldwin said that about 25% of cocoa used for making Cadbury chocolates is sourced from Ghana.
According to Baldwin, Cadbury World – through Mondelez Cocoa Life – has rolled out a US$400 million livelihood empowerment project in cocoa-growing communities of Africa as part of efforts to better the lot of cocoa farmers.
Mr. Baldwin made these remarks when five outstanding Ghanaian cocoa farmers visited Cadbury World at Bourneville as part of a two-week visit to the UK.
Mr. Baldwin used the farmer’s visit to walk them through the company’s operations and its recreational facilities, and commended the cocoa farmers for their efforts at improving the quality of cocoa produced — encouraging them to adopt modern technologies to make cocoa farming attractive for the younger generation.
Mr. Barnett Quaicoo, the Manager of Cocoa Marketing Company Ltd. UK, described Cadbury as one of the biggest trading partners in the UK that sources cocoa beans from Ghana Cocoa Board.
Mr. Quaicoo added that the choice of Cadbury for the farmer’s visit was to allow the farmers experience cocoa processing and interact with the buyers of their produce.
Mr. Noah Amenyah, the Senior Public Affairs Manager of Ghana Cocoa Board who accompanied the farmers, said the cocoa farmers produce an average of about 2,000kg per hectare.
Mr. Amenyah indicated that the farmers had maintained best agronomic and environmental conservation practices to produce best cocoa and emerge as award winners for the 2015 and 2016 cocoa seasons.
He said the trip will encourage other cocoa farmers to work harder to win similar awards.
The farmers are Nana Kweku Adu, 2015 National Best Cocoa Farmer; Nana Opoku Gyamfi, 2016 National Best Cocoa Farmer; and Madam Martha Addai, 2016 Most Enterprising Female Cocoa Farmer. The others are Nana Johnson Mensah, Western Regional Chief Farmer; and Nana Obeng Akrofi, Eastern Regional Chief Farmer.
Gold Coast Refinery pushes for free zones permit to upscale production
Gold Coast Refinery, a leading gold refiner in the country, has asked
government to grant it a Free Zones certification permit to enable it
upscale production capacity.
The Free Zone status will enable the company to import large volumes of raw gold from the sub-region, then refine and export it to the global market.
B&FT has gathered that the company has already submitted an application to government to be considered for a Free Zone certification permit to be granted.
Mr. Sampson Nortey, Director of Gold Coast Refinery, in an interview with B&FT said: “If we have Free Zones status we can import gold from the sub-region, refine and export. All of that will upscale our production. Currently, we are doing just five percent of our capacity.
“About 90 percent of what we are doing here is for export. But the industry is such that we don’t get certain privileges.
“The fiscal regimes. such as taxes, import duties among others, make our operations very difficult, expensive and uncompetitive if we are to compete in the global market. But with the Free Zones facility it softens companies like the local refineries.”
Mr. Nortey said this after the Minister of Trade, Alan Kyerematen, led a delegation from the ministry to tour the refinery and acquaint themselves with the company’s operations.
The chemical line of the refinery, Mr Nortey said, has an installed capacity of 600 kg of gold per day and 180 metric tonnes per annum, while it also has the capacity to smelt about 150 kg of refined gold at a time.
Explaining the reason for the low production level of just five percent, Nortey indicated that it is largely due to the low stock of gold it receives from the market, adding that the company is seriously under-producing at an average of 5 percent of the refinery’s capacity.
Currently, the refinery only receives inputs from small-scale producers of gold in the country, since it does not have a contract yet with any of the large producing companies.
“Due to the strict regulations on the source of gold input for refineries on the international market, it is impossible for the company to buy from illegal producers – unlike its counterparts from India,” he stated.
He however expressed hope that in the next six months the refinery will go into contract with some producers of gold in the country to allow it increase the refinery’s input-feed.
Nortey appealed for government to intervene and enhance the access to raw gold input, by ensuring large producers of gold in the country refine or add value to at least 20 percent of their produce before exporting out of the country.
“Last year, the country was able to make an output of about 100 metric tonnes of gold; so, if we have an installed capacity to refine 180 metrics tonnes per annum, that should be more than the country’s total production,” he said.
Nortey stated that the refinery could take the West Africa sub-region’s entire production, since statistics for last year show that entire production in the sub-region was about 163 metric tonnes. If the refinery should operate in a double shift, it has a capacity of 300 to 340 metric tonnes per annum.
The Minister of Trade, Mr. Alan Kyerematen, interacting with media after touring the refinery, explained that government will provide all the support required for gold refineries in the country to succeed.
“Obviously, if the company requires any other form of public investment we will look at it purely on a commercial basis,” he said.
He added: “What we have seen here shows that government is on the right track in making the conscious effort of adding value to its natural resources. Our primary desire is to make sure that they have successes as a private company”.
Commending management for the excellent operations being undertaken, Mr. Kyerematen said: “As a government we can talk about industrialising the country, and we believe that it is the only way we can sustain our economy as it provides opportunity for us to create quality job opportunities for citizens”.
He indicated that for over 100 years the country has depended on gold and cocoa. “Regrettably, we have been shipping our raw gold without refining it. It provides an opportunity for us to expand the size of our economy, so we take value addition very seriously.”
He commended the company again for ensuring that over 90 percent of its staff are Ghanaian.
The Free Zone status will enable the company to import large volumes of raw gold from the sub-region, then refine and export it to the global market.
B&FT has gathered that the company has already submitted an application to government to be considered for a Free Zone certification permit to be granted.
Mr. Sampson Nortey, Director of Gold Coast Refinery, in an interview with B&FT said: “If we have Free Zones status we can import gold from the sub-region, refine and export. All of that will upscale our production. Currently, we are doing just five percent of our capacity.
“About 90 percent of what we are doing here is for export. But the industry is such that we don’t get certain privileges.
“The fiscal regimes. such as taxes, import duties among others, make our operations very difficult, expensive and uncompetitive if we are to compete in the global market. But with the Free Zones facility it softens companies like the local refineries.”
Mr. Nortey said this after the Minister of Trade, Alan Kyerematen, led a delegation from the ministry to tour the refinery and acquaint themselves with the company’s operations.
The chemical line of the refinery, Mr Nortey said, has an installed capacity of 600 kg of gold per day and 180 metric tonnes per annum, while it also has the capacity to smelt about 150 kg of refined gold at a time.
Explaining the reason for the low production level of just five percent, Nortey indicated that it is largely due to the low stock of gold it receives from the market, adding that the company is seriously under-producing at an average of 5 percent of the refinery’s capacity.
Currently, the refinery only receives inputs from small-scale producers of gold in the country, since it does not have a contract yet with any of the large producing companies.
“Due to the strict regulations on the source of gold input for refineries on the international market, it is impossible for the company to buy from illegal producers – unlike its counterparts from India,” he stated.
He however expressed hope that in the next six months the refinery will go into contract with some producers of gold in the country to allow it increase the refinery’s input-feed.
Nortey appealed for government to intervene and enhance the access to raw gold input, by ensuring large producers of gold in the country refine or add value to at least 20 percent of their produce before exporting out of the country.
“Last year, the country was able to make an output of about 100 metric tonnes of gold; so, if we have an installed capacity to refine 180 metrics tonnes per annum, that should be more than the country’s total production,” he said.
Nortey stated that the refinery could take the West Africa sub-region’s entire production, since statistics for last year show that entire production in the sub-region was about 163 metric tonnes. If the refinery should operate in a double shift, it has a capacity of 300 to 340 metric tonnes per annum.
The Minister of Trade, Mr. Alan Kyerematen, interacting with media after touring the refinery, explained that government will provide all the support required for gold refineries in the country to succeed.
“Obviously, if the company requires any other form of public investment we will look at it purely on a commercial basis,” he said.
He added: “What we have seen here shows that government is on the right track in making the conscious effort of adding value to its natural resources. Our primary desire is to make sure that they have successes as a private company”.
Commending management for the excellent operations being undertaken, Mr. Kyerematen said: “As a government we can talk about industrialising the country, and we believe that it is the only way we can sustain our economy as it provides opportunity for us to create quality job opportunities for citizens”.
He indicated that for over 100 years the country has depended on gold and cocoa. “Regrettably, we have been shipping our raw gold without refining it. It provides an opportunity for us to expand the size of our economy, so we take value addition very seriously.”
He commended the company again for ensuring that over 90 percent of its staff are Ghanaian.
Gov’t targets US$1b annually from handicrafts sales
The Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ghana Export Promotion
Authority (GEPA) are to promote locally-made handicrafts as a major
export commodity on the international market.
The collaboration, which is expected to generate an estimated US$1billion a year, forms part of a broader strategy of promoting made-in-Ghana products globally.
Products classified under the handicraft category include: basket-ware, ceramic products, traditional musical instruments, hides and skins, batik/tie and dye, statuettes, beads, pottery, leatherwork, paintings, drawings and other forms of art and craft.
Data from the GEPA has shown that non-traditional export earnings from the handicraft sector grew by 23 percent in 2015; from US$3.47million in 2014 to US$4.27million – a far cry from what other economies earn from the sector.
Despite these figures, the sector’s potential as a major source of foreign exchange – according to the Craft Dealers Association of Ghana – is still untapped.
Mr. Carlos Ahenkorah, a Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry said: “The ministry is collaborating with GEPA to develop a comprehensive electronic portal that will position Ghanaian handicrafts products to be seen anywhere in the world – the biggest e-portal selling made-in-Ghana products. We want to create a sector where buyers can sit anywhere in the world to purchase made-in- Ghana items. We are going to promote made-in-Ghana goods aggressively”.
He added: “We want to develop a culture wherein a buyer can sit in his country, buy a product and get it shipped to him”.
Commenting on the dwindling handicrafts industry, Mr. Ahenkorah said: “No one will allow the sector to die. We intend making arrangements to open the industry to worldwide patronage and sustainable production”.
Alhaji Tanko, Chairperson of the Craft Dealers Association of Ghana, told the B&FT that though various measures are in place to support the sector, the processes for accessing that support are cumbersome.
“I don’t dispute the fact there is support in place; but it is better you don’t even access that support because it will take you years, and you won’t even get the full complement of what you want. By the time you even get the support, it is no longer relevant because market conditions would have changed.”
He added: “If on our own we generating over US$4million, then you can imagine what will happen if government gives us a little support. We are convinced that if government can come to our aid, remove all these bureaucratic bottlenecks, it will help us improve our earnings and ultimately contribute to development of the country – but in the absence of that, we will just be marking time”.
To support the sector’s development, Mr. Tanko said government must create a fund purposely for handicraft production, just as it has done for the creative arts sector.
This, when done, he added, will see the sector’s contribution to the economy more than double.
Consumers taste and preference for imported alternatives and the high cost of raw materials are also some of the major challenges facing the sector.
“The profit that we are supposed to earn is being taken away by other expenses. For instance, government must soften it taxes on the export of handicrafts, because this sector can be a very strategic industry for the country. We understand that countries develop from the taxes that the individuals pay, but government has to soften its taxes to grow the sector first,” Alhaji Tanko appealed.
“As a country, we need to give more support to the sector to create more jobs and generate revenue,” Mr. Alhaji Tanko said.
The global handicraft sector has an industry-value of about US$100billion. Yet, the country has not positioned itself well enough to tap into this huge market.
The handicraft sector remains one of the highest-grossing non-traditional exports for many developing countries.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) estimates that globally the handicraft industry has a market value of US$100 billion.
The industry plays a dominant role in the economic development of rural masses by providing seasonal employment, especially during the off-farming season.
Crafts and small businesses, for instance, employ more than 66 percent of Europe’s workforce — around 98 million people.
In the UK alone, craft skills contribute £3.4billion to the economy, and the country’s Crafts Council estimates that there are around 23,000 micro-businesses are in the crafts sector.
Canada also exports about US$100million worth of crafts, and the sector employs about 22,597 persons in the various establishments.
In the United States, the art and craft industry accounts for about US$13.8billion and employs more than 127,000 people.
In the East African country of Kenya, woodcarving plays a very important role in the economy – contributing an estimated US$10million per year, of which a considerable part is export earnings.
The handicraft sector also accounts for 19 percent of Morocco’s GDP, earning the country more than US$70million.
The collaboration, which is expected to generate an estimated US$1billion a year, forms part of a broader strategy of promoting made-in-Ghana products globally.
Products classified under the handicraft category include: basket-ware, ceramic products, traditional musical instruments, hides and skins, batik/tie and dye, statuettes, beads, pottery, leatherwork, paintings, drawings and other forms of art and craft.
Data from the GEPA has shown that non-traditional export earnings from the handicraft sector grew by 23 percent in 2015; from US$3.47million in 2014 to US$4.27million – a far cry from what other economies earn from the sector.
Despite these figures, the sector’s potential as a major source of foreign exchange – according to the Craft Dealers Association of Ghana – is still untapped.
Mr. Carlos Ahenkorah, a Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry said: “The ministry is collaborating with GEPA to develop a comprehensive electronic portal that will position Ghanaian handicrafts products to be seen anywhere in the world – the biggest e-portal selling made-in-Ghana products. We want to create a sector where buyers can sit anywhere in the world to purchase made-in- Ghana items. We are going to promote made-in-Ghana goods aggressively”.
He added: “We want to develop a culture wherein a buyer can sit in his country, buy a product and get it shipped to him”.
Commenting on the dwindling handicrafts industry, Mr. Ahenkorah said: “No one will allow the sector to die. We intend making arrangements to open the industry to worldwide patronage and sustainable production”.
Alhaji Tanko, Chairperson of the Craft Dealers Association of Ghana, told the B&FT that though various measures are in place to support the sector, the processes for accessing that support are cumbersome.
“I don’t dispute the fact there is support in place; but it is better you don’t even access that support because it will take you years, and you won’t even get the full complement of what you want. By the time you even get the support, it is no longer relevant because market conditions would have changed.”
He added: “If on our own we generating over US$4million, then you can imagine what will happen if government gives us a little support. We are convinced that if government can come to our aid, remove all these bureaucratic bottlenecks, it will help us improve our earnings and ultimately contribute to development of the country – but in the absence of that, we will just be marking time”.
To support the sector’s development, Mr. Tanko said government must create a fund purposely for handicraft production, just as it has done for the creative arts sector.
This, when done, he added, will see the sector’s contribution to the economy more than double.
Consumers taste and preference for imported alternatives and the high cost of raw materials are also some of the major challenges facing the sector.
“The profit that we are supposed to earn is being taken away by other expenses. For instance, government must soften it taxes on the export of handicrafts, because this sector can be a very strategic industry for the country. We understand that countries develop from the taxes that the individuals pay, but government has to soften its taxes to grow the sector first,” Alhaji Tanko appealed.
“As a country, we need to give more support to the sector to create more jobs and generate revenue,” Mr. Alhaji Tanko said.
The global handicraft sector has an industry-value of about US$100billion. Yet, the country has not positioned itself well enough to tap into this huge market.
The handicraft sector remains one of the highest-grossing non-traditional exports for many developing countries.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) estimates that globally the handicraft industry has a market value of US$100 billion.
The industry plays a dominant role in the economic development of rural masses by providing seasonal employment, especially during the off-farming season.
Crafts and small businesses, for instance, employ more than 66 percent of Europe’s workforce — around 98 million people.
In the UK alone, craft skills contribute £3.4billion to the economy, and the country’s Crafts Council estimates that there are around 23,000 micro-businesses are in the crafts sector.
Canada also exports about US$100million worth of crafts, and the sector employs about 22,597 persons in the various establishments.
In the United States, the art and craft industry accounts for about US$13.8billion and employs more than 127,000 people.
In the East African country of Kenya, woodcarving plays a very important role in the economy – contributing an estimated US$10million per year, of which a considerable part is export earnings.
The handicraft sector also accounts for 19 percent of Morocco’s GDP, earning the country more than US$70million.
New strategy to eliminate constraints in corporate sector
A three-year Business Regulations Strategy (BRS) aimed at eliminating
constraints, modernising the legal and regulatory systems to promote faster
growth, job-creation and economic prosperity in the country’s corporate sector
is being developed.
The strategy, spearheaded by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, in collaboration with other Ministries, Departments and Agencies, is designed to be systemic and permanent in its effects by changing how the government designs and implements business regulations in the future.
Mr. Carlos Ahenkorah, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, speaking at a National Exporters’ Forum in Accra explained that: “Within the broader national economic reform agenda, the BRS aims to promote economic development, deepen and broaden current reform efforts in order to establish a national regulatory environment that sustainably reduces red-tape and barriers, and better promotes private sector activity and job-creation”.
He added: “We are optimistic that this strategy will enhance business operations for better performance.“Our goal as a government is simple: to build the most business-friendly and people-friendly economy in Africa, which will create jobs and prosperity for all Ghanaians.
“We will ensure that growth is socially responsible, diversified, spreads geographically, comes from genuine value addition, is environmentally sensitive, and fair to all participants in the economy including labour.”
He stated that government’s goal is to achieve double-digit Gross Domestic Product growth annually for the next four years, as it works to reduce the cost of doing business, maintain fiscal discipline, reduce borrowing and reduce interest rates to spur private sector investment.
“Our economic programme will further enhance agricultural production and productivity, along with a transformation of the economy through value-addition to raw materials in a process of rapid industrialisation.”
He observed that with exception of the year 2010, when Ghana recorded a trade surplus, the country has had a perennial trade deficit regime since 2004.
“I am, therefore, happy to inform you that indications equally point to a trade surplus regime this year. This surely calls for sustained focus and doubling of efforts by all actors in the sector.”
Ghana’s peers in sub-Saharan Africa are reforming faster and going further. For example, Kenya has improved its ease of doing business ranking from 129 to 108 in the last year alone. Ghana faces competition from other countries that have cottoned on to the importance of institutional reforms and cutting red-tape, initiatives that allow businesses to thrive, create jobs and pay taxes.
Many countries are redoubling their efforts at reforms and in some cases cutting substantially the regulatory burden – thereby easing the cost of compliance. In some jurisdictions businesses can be registered in a day.
In sub-Saharan Africa the best performers for starting a business are Burundi and Liberia, where it takes four days and four and a half days respectively.
In Ghana, it takes on average 14 days to register a business; and the cost of starting a business rose by 70 percent in 2012 alone. This means Ghana has competition for investment, and needs to do more to attract it.
Thursday, December 7, 2017
Avnash trains students in Agric Technology
An Indian
company, Avnash Industries Ghana limited, has trained 120 graduates in Agric
Technology to generate innovative ideas to scale-up rice production in the
Northern Region.
The
initiative is also to make Ghana more self-sufficient as well as to develop the
practical skills of the students and introduce them to the opportunities in the
Agric sector.
According to Avnash, the initiative is in line
with its core values of creating more employment opportunities, and helping the
evolution of the industrial sector.
The about
120 students drawn from the University for Development Studies (UDS) and Tamale
Technical University (TTU) are grouped according to the courses they offer, and
were trained for a six-month period.
Avnash calls
itself Ghana’s foremost agribusiness company which is run jointly with Kumasi
Hive, Ghana’s first hardware-focused innovation hub.
As part of
the programme, six teams of students from UDS and TTU were selected to go
through to the final stage of the Avnash Agric Technology Hackathon, in which
they receive funding to build a working prototype of their innovation for the
rice supply chain.
Following
training in Design Thinking, the participants formed teams and started to work
on solutions to particular challenges that interested them.
The
competition, which started in December when Avnash opened the doors of its 500
MT per day rice mills, the largest in Africa, to more than one hundred students
from both institutions.
The students were taken through field visits
to some of the 29,000 rice farmers supplying Avnash, and other stages of the
supply chain.
Two rounds of pitching have now narrowed down
the field of innovations to the final six who each receive funding from Avnash
to build a working prototype to demonstrate their idea.
The students
were screened from the 20 students of which the best three were awarded for
their innovation, with the winners given prizes as well as supported with
logistics to start their businesses.
Team Farms
Companion emerged winners of the creativity programme initiated by Avnash, with
254 points and given GH¢2, 000 and offered a trip to the organization’s
operation areas.
The second
position was won by team Fertilizer with 247 and received GH¢1, 000, while the
third position was won by team Critical Thinkers with 246, also taking homeGH¢500.00.
Speaking at
the final pitch of Avnash Agric Hackathon at Nyankpala in Tamale, CEO of Avnash
Industries Limited, Jai Merchandani, noted that the various tertiary students
have the potential to create their own businesses when given the needed
capacity training and support.
He said the company saw it necessary to enable
the students come up with innovative ideas that will help both the public and
the private industries to grow, adding that research conducted has helped to
identify some challenges confronting the farmers making it difficult to product
to meet the criteria of the industries as well the market.
“Avnash is
committed towards creating ecosystem and opportunities that can connect to its
processing plant to produce more to feed the nation and also as a measure to
grow the economy, hence the involvements students” he said.
The Kumasi
Hive CEO, George Appiah, said the company is committed towards investing in the
innovativeness of the youth, adding that “we run many hackathons but we have
been very impressed by the creativity of the students taking part in this one.”
He stressed
that the company has also designed a five-year development plan to create five
million jobs for the youth of the country and therefore called for support in
achieving the aim.B&FT
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)