Cocoa roads projects under scrutiny

• Approved GH¢1.6 bn budget increases to GH¢5bn
• ‘Completed’ roads do not exist

A comprehensive value for money audit of the country’s Cocoa Roads Projects is underway to assess the financial obligation of the projects to government and ensure value for money, Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, has said.

Though an amount of GH¢1.6 billion was approved for the construction of cocoa roads across the country, more than GH¢5billion worth of contracts were signed with various companies for the execution of the project funded by the Ghana Cocoa Board ((COCOBOD).

Dr. Akoto said: “For cocoa roads, the previous administration approved a budget for GH¢1.6 billion, but when we took over, we realized that they signed contracts worth nearly GH¢5 billion. It just beats your imagination. This is just one piece of evidence that I’m giving you about mismanagement.

A budget has been approved by management to follow and then the board sits and oversee the quadrupling of what they themselves have set as ceiling. This is unthinkable and the cause of all the financial challenges Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) is facing now,” he said.

Dr. Akoto, who has oversight responsibility of COCOBOD after the cocoa sector was recently moved from the Ministry of Finance of Food and Agriculture, was speaking after the swearing-in ceremony of a seven-member board of directors for the Cocoa Marketing Company (CMC) Limited in Accra.

“What is more revealing is that all the cocoa roads they captured that the money was used for do not exist. Those roads are not there. We have ordered investigations to help government proceed to the court,” he said.

Dr. Akoto indicated that country’s cocoa industry has worsened to the extent that the Board, for the first time in its history, has to borrow money to pay its farmers.

“This is the first time COCOBOD is having to go out and borrow money at between 21 and 22 percent to pay farmers for their produce. That is how bad the industry has become”, he said.

This, he said, has made it difficult for COCOBOD to finance its operations, adding that, the price the country is paying to its farmers is below the price they are getting on the international market.

“A year ago, the world price of cocoa was around US$3,000 per metric tonne on the London exchange. As we speak now is not even US$1,900 that is a substantial drop of more than one third on the price”.

“Unfortunately, when Akufo-Addo came in prices have already started tumbling and as of last week, it was as low as US$1,880. The price Ghana is paying to its farmers is just below the price that we are getting on the international stage”, he stated.

Dr. Akoto urged the current Board to be prudent in their management of resources to help revamp confidence in the cocoa sector.

The Board members include: Mr. Joseph Kobina Essidu, Board Chairman; Anthony Osei Boakye; and Dr. Emmanuel Osei Tuffour—the President’s nominee.

Others members also include: Mr.  Charles Nornoo, MOFA’s representative; Dr. Johnson Asiama, Bank of Ghana; Mr. David Nii Klotey Collison,Ministry of Finance; and Dr. K. Mensah-Aborampah, representing CMC.

Speaking on half of the other board members, Mr. Essidu, thanked the President for giving them the opportunity to contribute towards the revival of the country’s cocoa industry which has great impact on the economy.

He confirmed that cocoa continue to be the country’s mainstay of the economy and promised to work diligently to ensure the speedy revival of the country’s cocoa sector.

GRA upgrades Custom laboratories to combat illicit trade

Mr. Emmanuel Kofi Nti, Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) says, the role of Customs laboratories has evolved over time with changes in international trade environment.

This, he said, has made it imperative for the GRA to upgrade its customs laboratories with the latest innovations in technology and working methods by the acquisition of mobile laboratories and portable devices.

Speaking at the official handing over ceremony of two Mobile Laboratory Vans to the GRA’s Customs Division in Accra, Mr. Nti said: “The deployment of the mobile laboratories will help improve the response time for goods that arrive through the outstations and the country stand to benefit from a more secure flow of goods and increase revenue from International trade.”

The Mobile Laboratory Vans was procured with funding from the Netherlands under the GIZ implemented Good Financial Governance Programme (GFG) in Ghana and was presented to GRA  to help combat illicit trade, anti-smuggling operations as well as protect consumers from harmful goods.

The vans will also be used to conduct tests in detecting explosives that might be present in cargo containers using modern technologies, determining the authenticity and origin of products using Fourier transform infra-red technology, detecting illegal imports like narcotics and drug precursors, and many others.

The Mobile Lab will be placed at the Ports and boarders daily to facilitate the clearance of goods, safeguard the environment, maintain security in the flow of trade as well as combat terrorism.
They would as well be deployed to a particular station, terminal or check point upon the request or directive of the Customs Scientific officer in charge and the Sector Commander.

Mr. Ron Strikker, Netherlands Ambassador to Ghana, explained that the vans were going to propel speedy and efficient clearance of goods and enhance right investment drive in the country, expressing optimism in the country’s drive in mobilizing more revenue through broadening the tax system through fiscal and ambitious investment programmes.

Dr. Nina Korte, GIZ-GFG Revenue Component Manager was delighted that the vans were going to improve service delivery of Customs and evaluate systems that would meet international standards.

Dr. Korte: “With the Ghana Revenue Authority, we currently work on a variety of reform activities with the Office of the Commissioner General, in the Domestic Tax Revenue Division, the Support Services Division and the Customs Division.

“I am happy to inform you, that it is in the support of the customs laboratory we engaged in the design and procurement of the two custom-built Mobile Laboratory Vans we are handing over today.

The vans will allow Customs to conduct tests right in the field, which will speed up processes and increase protection of Ghanaian citizens. The lab vans will hence contribute to the ease of doing business, better border protection and strengthened domestic resource mobilization.”

Mr. Isaac Crentsil, the Commissioner, Customs Division, was elated that the mobile laboratory vans had come at an opportune time when the GRA was going paperless on port transactions.

He added: “the units will enhance business operations of GRA as it has the ability to detect and identify items in cargo for export or imports through the use of modern technologies thus combating smuggling.”

Mr. Crentsil was optimistic that the donation of the vans would further enhance bilateral relations between Ghana, the Kingdom of Netherlands and Germany.

“It is my expectation that the two mobile laboratory vans would lead to an improvement in service delivery and promote the Customs vision of becoming more efficient,” he stated.

 Assistant Commissioner of Customs Laboratory, Anthony Mensah, said mobile laboratories were very critical in improving the efficiency of customs work because they bring the customs laboratories out of the buildings on to the field, thereby permitting on-the-spot customs controls.

He stated that the vans could detect goods concealed in hidden or false compartment and they were also equipped with special signaling system and kits for screening food, drugs and industrial chemicals.

Akufo-Addo hails 1000MW gas deal with GAZPROM

President Nana Akufo-Addo has described the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) sales agreement reached between the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and Russian energy giant GAZPROM as “positive” and “one that is going to play a very important role in the economic life of Ghana.” 

Per the agreement, GAZPROM, the world’s largest natural gas company, is expected to provide the country with gas capable of adding up to 1,000 MW to power supply.

The deal, a release from the presidency indicated, “replaces two signed competing contracts for the same Tema LNG project by the previous John Mahama government, which were both considered over-priced and over-sized for Ghana.”

The GAZPROM deal, the press statement noted, “has saved the country over a billion dollars, and will see the construction of a regasification terminal at Tema.”

According to President Nana Akufo-Addo, GAZPROM’s decision to establish a base in Ghana is testament to the efforts his government has put in place over the last 8 months to “try to put a better framework in place to encourage private sector participation in the growth of the economy.”

After putting in place measures to improve the country’s fiscal and monetary policy, as well as improve the economic and business climate, the President stated that “we are now focusing on the very key area of power and energy,” it said.

“If we are going to succeed in pushing the industrial development of our country rapidly, the supply of gas to our country is now a matter of very great importance for us,” the president said on Friday, September 15, 2017, when a delegation from GAZPROM called on him at the presidency, after the signing of the Gas Sales Agreement (GSA) between GNPC and GAZPROM.

President Akufo-Addo assured the team from GAZPROM that “all of us are going to do whatever we need to do to make sure that this relationship that we have now begun to build becomes a strong positive and successful one.”

Head International Business at GAZPROM, Mr. Pavel Oderov, described the agreement as “a very big day for us at GAZPROM,” adding that, “Indeed, we have signed, today, the second biggest LNG supply contract in our portfolio.”

“With GAZPROM producing 11% of the world’s gas, we are more than honoured to become a supplier of LNG to Ghana. We are absolutely sure that we will become a reliable partner for the energy industry in Ghana,” he added.

The group was in the country to complete negotiations with the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) towards the execution of the contract.

Elaborating on the contract, the Minister of Energy, Mr Boakye Agyarko, said Ghana would require a lot more gas as the country stepped up its development agenda.

“If we are to do the bauxite project, agro-chemicals and petro-chemicals and also ensure fuel availability for power generation, then it is necessary that we get gas at the right price. Going out onto the contract market to source for LNG can be very expensive,” Mr Agyarko said.

According to Mr Agyarko, the move will affect the pricing of power, making it cheaper for businesses in order to bring down the cost of doing business in the country and facilitate the growth of more businesses.

“The importance of reducing the cost of producing power is that it allows us to charge a cheaper price for power to our citizens and also to industry so that they would become more competitive in the region, expand their production and be able to offer more employment to our citizens,” he said.

Doing that, Mr Agyarko said, was consistent with the president’s vision of  job creation, as a key factor to the nation’s growth and stability.