Cenpower deal wins PFI power sector award

             
The financial transactions for the construction of a 340MW Independent Power Project in Ghana has been internationally recognised by the London based PFI Awards as Africa’s most outstanding power deal of 2014.

The PFI Awards Scheme is the financial industry component of the Global Thomson Reuters Awards for Excellence and has for close to a decade rewarded corporate and individual success in the financial industry on the basis of their demonstration of “outstanding performance and commitment.”

The 2014 PFI Roll of Honour listed 40 award winners, with eight awards in each of five geographical zones: Global, Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe and Middle East / Africa.

For the Middle East / Africa zone, the 2014 PFI Award projects include Cenpower (African Power Deal of the Year); Lake Turkana (African Renewable Deal); Safi (North African Power Deal); Kirikkale (Power Deal); Tarnar (Bond Deal); Wa’ad Al Sharmal (Industry Deal); Star Rafinel (Refinery Deal) and Standard Bank (Bank of the Year).

The 2014 PFI Awards ceremony takes place on Wednesday, February 4, 2015, at the Hilton, Park Lane, London, a repeat location for last year’s plush event.

For Cenpower Holdings Limited, the wholly Ghanaian-owned initiators of the award-winning project — Cenpower Generation — and the operating company, as well as other shareholders (including the Africa Finance Corporation, Mercury Power (AIIM ) South Africa, FMO of the Netherlands and SUMITOMO of Japan), the PFI recognition could not have been announced on a better period than the very week that the project achieved wet / liquid financial close.

Reacting to the news in Accra, Mr Sam Nana Brew-Butler, Chairman of Cenpower Generation, referred to the PFI Award as a “very gratifying recognition of the many years of commitment to the Cenpower project by numerous Ghanaian and foreign individuals, corporate entities and institutions.”

He particularly appreciated the efforts of governments of Ghana over the past years, RandMerchant Bank, Standard Bank and NED Bank, The Export Credit Insurance Company, DBSA and the IDC (all of South Africa) and the FMO led European DFIs, including EAIF, DEG-INVEST and OFID.

Group Five of South Africa has been issued with a notice to proceed and is scheduled to commence construction work on the 350 MW dual cycle power plant at the Tema Heavy Industrial Area in January 2015.

Education Ministry rolls out plan to transform polytechnics in Universities

                                

   Stakeholders in the education sector are set to meet early next month to discuss a draft bill on transforming polytechnics into technical universities.

According to the Deputy Education Minister for Tertiary Education, Okudzeto Ablakwa, there would be a stakeholder consultation on the draft bill on January 8, 2015 after which “we would have made substantial progress on the conversion of our polytechnics into technical universities.”

The bill, he added, “we will send it to parliament and that would see us have a new focus for our polytechnics as they become technical universities.”

The conversion of polytechnics into technical universities, the deputy minister said, is part of government’s plans for the education sector next year.

Mr. Ablakwa told Joy News the actual construction of the University of Environment and Sustainable Development in the Eastern region would also start next year.

“It is in 2015 that we expect that we will have begun construction of the university in the Eastern region so that all 10 regions in Ghana will have a public university,” he said.

Mr. Ablakwa added that the government is hoping that the bill for the University, which is now in parliament would be “passed into an act and we will be able to have the green light to commence actual construction.”

The Deputy Education Minister reiterated that the progressive free secondary education will start in 2015, assuring that the first 50 of 200 senior high schools promised would be completed.”

Work on 10 new colleges of education is also expected to start next year, he said.

William mcdowell

University of Ghana launches Strategic Plan

DThe University of Ghana has launched a Strategic Plan with a focus on research as one of the key priorities to the institution’s transformation process and ultimately strengthening its impact and visibility internationally.

Professor Ernest Aryeetey, Vice-Chancellor of the University, said the new strategic plan, which spans 2014 to 2024, was intended to consolidate the gains made from the review of the university’s Mission and Practices and situate these within the context of a very dynamic environment of higher education in Ghana and beyond.

The vision, he said, was to become a “world class research-intensive university” over the next decade, and to achieve this, the management would create an enabling environment that made the University of Ghana (UG) increasingly relevant to national and global development through cutting-edge research as well as high quality teaching and learning.

He said in the nine priority pillars under the Plan, the university would create a vibrant climate that stimulates relevant cutting edge research and community engagement, promote academic excellence using the highest international standards of teaching, learning and leadership development and provide an environment that would ensure fulfilling experiences for internal stakeholders.

Prof. Aryeetey said the UG had also strategised to create the best environment for equal opportunity in gender and diversity, overhaul all governance arrangements to achieve greater effectiveness and efficiency and enhance the mobilisation and management of resources at unit and central administration levels.

It would also strengthen the management of the university’s assets and facilities as well as mainstream and enforce structures and processes for system-wide monitoring and evaluation, and build stakeholder confidence in its capabilities.

The Vice-Chancellor said the university had undergone significant change since its last strategic plan in 2001 to 2011, especially in the area of producing world-class human resources, adding that the institution would remain committed to knowledge generation that positively impacted the lives of those within and outside its community.

Prof Aryeetey said it was anticipated that the demand for other services from the university, beyond the training of minds, would grow as research became more and more important to African economies and society.

Therefore, the way the university was funded was expected to change as a result of expected changes in the public financing of education and the relationship between the UG and the Government.

He said the fact that there were many more universities in Ghana and Africa should even influence the way the UG planned for its future, but indicated that significant improvements had occurred in the past few years in areas including improved staff capacity and growth in the research output of the university’s faculty members.

He said through staff development schemes the number of lecturers with PhDs had increased to 63 per cent compared to 42 per cent 10 years ago.

The Vice-Chancellor said the creation of an Office of Research Innovation and Development had led to significant increases in funding for research from various sources, including Internally Generated Funds (IGF).

He enumerated some current and future challenges of the university as overcrowding of its facilities, both academic and residential and inadequacy of teaching faculty, but said the last decade had seen consistent and dynamic effort to address those as much efforts had been made in the development of student housing and academic buildings.

Prof. Aryeetey said some of the major pillars of the strategic plan period would be to grow the number of graduate students, especially at the PhD level to ensure a ratio of 50:50 undergraduate and graduate, and also maintain a total number of regular residential students at not more than 35,000 by the end of the period.

It aims at expanding the total number of Distance Education and Accra City Campus students to not more than 20,000, expand significantly the number of faculty members to ensure a decent teacher - student ratio in conformity with national norms and standards.

The Volta Association of Washington D.C Metro Area Celebrates End-of -Year Get-Together

                                          

The Volta Association of Washington D.C Metro Area Celebrates End-of -Year Get-Together.

The Volta Association of Washington D.C Metro Area celebrated its annual end-of- year party on Saturday, December 13 at the spacious Sligo Adventist School hall in Takoma Park, Maryland. The event attracted a number of Ghanaians from all walks of life. Speaking at the event, the Reverend Kennedy Odzafi urged members to sign up for the new Affordable Healthcare, popularly called Obama care before enrolment ends. He advised those who are already participating in the program to re-enroll before the deadline.

The Volta Dance Ensemble, the cultural wing of the Volta Association of the Washington D.C. Area, took the opportunity to recognize one of their own, Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Vodi, for their roles and contributions towards shaping the activities of the ensemble and presented them with a token gift. 

The occasion also marked the induction into office, new executive officers to run the affairs of the association for the next two years. Inducted into office are the following people to constitute the executive committee of the Volta Association: President-Chris Nuworsoo (re-elected), Vice President-Melba Folly (re-elected), Treasurer-Rejoice Parbey, Secretary-Vincent Kosi,Assistan secretary-Misornu Dzobo, Organizing Chair-Kafui Agboh, Organizing Co-chair Vivian Ocloo. The executive was sworn into office by Reverend Dr. Peter Agbelie.

In his inaugural address, the president asked all hands to be on deck in the coming year to move the association to a higher pedestal of fame. The president granted amnesty to members who have defaulted in the payment of dues and are in arrears for a year or more in order to rally all members around to make their meaningful contributions to the association. Those members were given up to the end of March, 2015, to pay a flat fee of one hundred dollars ($100) and also, an amount of one hundred and twenty dollars ($120) constituting the entire dues for the year 2015. 

The event attracted a number of dignitaries from other associations such as the Asante Kotoko and Magha. Also present at the celebration were past presidents of the Volta Association in the persons of Messrs. Gabriel Pomary, William Ayenson, David Arku, William Adzimahe, and Edwin Agbonyitor.
The rest of the evening was full of fun-fare, crowned with dancing, with music provided by DJ 

Mahama's leadership made a difference in Ebola fight - Ban Ki Moon

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has praised President John Mahama for his wise, bold and timely decision, as well as leadership, to have Accra serve as the logistics hub for the fight against Ebola and for the establishment of the United Nations Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) Mission.“I thank you for your very strong leadership in working together with the UN in addressing this unprecedented outbreak of Ebola,” Mr. Ban said.The UN Secretary-General was speaking on Thursday evening when he and a delegation of top UN officials visited President Mahama at the Flagstaff House in Accra.“Your decision and cooperation in establishing UNMEER here have helped the UN and the international community a great deal to address this issue. Thanks to Ghana, UNMEER has been able to deploy quickly to the affected countries. Ghana has played a key role,” he added.  He commended the President for the role that ECOWAS has played under the leadership of President Mahama in the fight against Ebola.This was in a statement signed by Mr. Ben Dotsei Malor, Head of Communications and Presidential Spokesperson- Office of the President- and copied to the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation in Accra on Friday, December 19, 2014.President Mahama, according to the statement, welcomed Mr. Ban and his delegation and thanked him for everything that the United Nations has been doing to support people in the affected nations. “Your coming here to visit the affected nations is going to be a very strong sign of encouragement to them,” said President Mahama.  He commended the fast manner in which the UN’s Ebola mission was deployed.The statement said, President Mahama was sad that the Ebola outbreak has caused so much humanitarian disaster, displaced many people and created a wave of orphans, and also affected the economic fortunes of countries affected by the Ebola outbreak and the sub-region as a whole.It said the two leaders exchanged views on the resumption of flights by many airlines to the affected nations and the way forward.Mr Ban pledged that the United Nations will stand with the people in the affected nations until Ebola is defeated. “We must make sure that the last case of Ebola is identified treated and eliminated. The UN will stand with the people on the region – the affected countries – until such time that we make sure that there are no more cases of Ebola.”Present in the meeting were the Foreign Minister, Hannah Tetteh, Chief of Staff, Prosper Bani, Finance Minister Seth Terkper, Deputy Minister for Health, Dr. Victor Bampoe, Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, and Minister for Communications Dr. Omane Boama.Mr. Ban was accompanied by the Director-General of the World Health Organisation, (WHO), Dr Margaret Chan, Senior UN System Coordinator for Ebola Virus Disease, Dr David Nabarro, and the Head of the UN’s Ebola Mission, Mr Tony Banbury.Mr. Ban leaves Accra on the morning of Friday, 19th December for Liberia, at the start of the four-nation visit that will also take him to Liberia, Guinea and Mali. The statement concluded.

Ghana to launch space satellite

Ghana is to launch a space satellite in the next five years near the Equator for earth observation.To be flagged under the name Ghana Satellite One (GHANASAT 1), it will be the first earth observation satellite in the orbit in the West African sub-region.The three-phase project, being championed by the Ghana Space Science and Technology Institute (GSSTI) under the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), with technical support from MENASAT?Gulf Group PLC, is projected to facilitate economic planning and management of resources.MENASAT Gulf Group PLC is the developer of the Gulf Satellite which provides real time imagery to the Middle East, North African and South East Asian regions.The first phase will include the building of a modern space data centre, while the second phase will ensure that Ghana has a direct receiving station for harvesting space information by 2020 and the final stage will involve the launch of the space satellite. BenefitsAt a stakeholders meeting in Accra to begin the project, the Director-General of GAEC, Mr Benjamin Jabez Nyarko, said the satellite would help Ghana to take advantage of the space technology to boost economic development.“Satellite data will provide information for the planning and management of the economy. When you are in space, you see things clearly.“Satellite information will help address issues of security, risk management, maritime, forest depletion, water problems and others challenges.“In recent times, we have seen a significant increase in space activities which countries are taking advantage of. Every developed nation has taken science and technology seriously. Ghana cannot afford to miss out on space science technology,” he said.The Director of GSSTI, Professor Dickson Adomako, in his welcome address, said space science and technology had enormous benefits.He said there were plans to team up with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) and the Ministry of Communications to use satellite information to boost the agricultural sector.“With the collaboration of the communication networks, we could send information through text messages to farmers in the rural areas on when to start planting,” he said.He said with the satellite, Ghana could also monitor oil spillage in the oil and gas sector to save the environment. Response to emergencyDr Nana Ama Brown Klutse, the manager of remote sensing and climate centre at GSSTI, said some institutions in Ghana had already signed agreements with international agencies for the sourcing of satellite data “but the project will make it possible to access such information locally.”She said it would also reduce the cost in image procurement and avoid duplication of investment by, especially, public institutions.Additionally, she said it would reduce the administration process in acquiring image procurement and improve the response to critical and emergency events, as well as boost national special data infrastructure development.The Chief Technology Officer of MENASAT Gulf Group PLC, Prof Riccardo Maggiora, said the GHANASAT1, which would provide high-level image processing services, was intended to serve the West?African sub-region.

Tullow opens manufacturing yard at Sekondi

A new fabrication facility for the oil sector has been opened at Sekondi in the Western Region. The yard was built by Tullow Oil to fabricate components for the TEN Project, Ghana’s next major oil development, on land leased from the Ghana Navy.Work at the site has started on the fabrication of nine anchor piles for Ghana’s second floating production and storage (FPSO) vessel, which will start producing oil from the Tweneboa, Enyenra and Ntomme (TEN) fields in mid-2016.The 122-tonne, 23 metre high steel cylinders will anchor the FPSO to the seabed, keeping it in place during its lifetime.Following the completion of the anchor piles in April 2015, the facility will be used to fabricate jumper spools for the TEN Project, which will connect subsea production equipment on the seabed.General Manager of Tullow Ghana Ltd, Charles Darku, commented: “It’s fantastic to see work has started at this new facility. We are grateful to the Navy for allowing us to lease the land. The TEN Project is making good its local content commitments and I’m very proud that Tullow is leading the first project to fabricate important FPSO components in Ghana.”Alex Mould, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, said as one of the TEN Partners, his outfit was pleased to be associated with the efforts that the field operator, Tullow was pursuing.“It is tangible evidence that we are delivering on the commitments made in the TEN Development Plan, approved by the Minister of Energy & Petroleum and also provides Ghana with a sustainable legacy that will support not just the TEN and Jubilee developments, but future oil projects as well. We congratulate all associated with this significant achievement.”A second new fabrication yard, also commissioned to fabricate components for the TEN Project, will soon open at the Takoradi Port.Being built by Subsea 7, this facility will be used to fabricate anchor piles for subsea manifolds.Working in collaboration with the Petroleum Commission, the TEN Project is committed to maximising the amount of work undertaken in Ghana. Earlier this year, module support tools for the FPSO were fabricated by Seaweld Engineering Ltd and Orsam Ltd in Tema and Takoradi, subsea mud mats are currently being fabricated by Harlequin International Ghana Ltd and Accra-based Hydra Offshore Group is supplying engineering services to the project.

'Germany will stand by Ghana in trying times '

                               C          

man Ambassador to Ghana, Mr John Rudiger, has stressed the resolve of Germany and the European Union (EU) to offer Ghana the needed assistance and tools for it to come out of the current economic challenges.

“We know Ghana is currently going through some challenges, we’ve seen ups and downs. But the EU, including Germany, will not let Ghana go down,” Mr Rudiger said last Friday at the Ghanaian-German Economic Association (GGEA) annual member dinner in Accra.

The GGEA is a business association of German and European companies which operate in the country and other West African business entities with German and European links.

The secretariat provides business advisory services to members on how to do businesses in Europe and West Africa and also organises seminars on burning economic, trade and industry issues and regulatory provisions in order to contribute to a healthy discourse to cause a positive change in the business environment.

Mr Rudiger said with the long-awaited Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) expected to be signed before the end of the year, the new trade agreement would enable the EU and its member countries to offer better conditions for businesses in the country.

The EPAs are a new trade agreement under which products entering the European Union from Ghana and other West African countries that sign the treaty, will enter without duties or limits on the quantity of exports. In return, West African countries can impose duties on 80 per cent of all imports from the EU. The preferential treaty will not affect rice and sugar.

The EU has supported Ghana’s budget with over GH¢1 billion between 2008 and 2013 in the areas of decentralisation, politics, gender and women and social services, among others.

Mr Rudiger said it was the objective of Germany to see more of its companies invest in the country to help create employment, saying, “We are working on it and pushing for a long-term sustainability of Ghana’s economy”.

The German ambassador called for the support of all businesses in the country and from the EU, saying, “The basis for this future development rests on you all”.

The President of the GGEA, Mr Stephen Antwi, said the year started on a bright note with the launch of the GGEA Lenz Finance, but it took a nose dive by the second quarter when the economy started experiencing some challenges that affected the operations of member companies.

“Then in the third quarter, we had this stingy, biting energy issue, which has just got worse with the expansion to industrial areas. But we look at 2015 with a lot of hope and vigour and believe that once we are able to nip the energy challenge in the bud, the country will be open to a lot of opportunities,” Mr Antwi said.

The GGEA members are banking their hope on the assurance that the energy crisis would be over by January and there will be stability in the cedi’s value. They also hope the government would be able to seal a deal with the IMF, which would make the currency more stable.

Mr Antwi said Ghana still continued to be attractive in spite of the challenges.

“We want to leverage our relationship with EU and German partners and focus on agriculture and agro-processing, which we believe is the way to go for export to Germany and Europe,” the GGEA president said.l

ECOWAS must work harder together –President Mahama

president John Dramani Mahama on Monday enjoined the Summit of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government to work harder together, and with smart strategies to keep the sub-region safe and attractive for investments.He explained that peace, security and stability were great requirements for attracting much needed investments to create jobs and opportunities for the people of the region, however terrorism or lack of security in one West African nation reflects negatively on the whole of the sub-region.President Mahama, who is Chair of the sub-regional body, was speaking at the opening session of the 46th Ordinary Session of the Authority in Abuja, Nigeria.President Mahama said the sub-region made a lot of progress in the passing year, including on the political front, notable progress in addressing political and security challenges. He was particular about successful presidential elections in Guinea Bissau, and ongoing reforms in Burkina Fasso, and urged parties to the inter-Malian dialogue taking place in Algiers to bury their differences and redouble their efforts for peace and security. ECWAS leaders at the meeting in a group photographHe said however that: “Despite these progressive strides our sub-region continues to be affected by multiple security threats. Notable among these are transnational organised crime, drug trafficking, terrorism, and violent extremism, maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, cross border security challenges in the Sahel Region and the Manor River Basin and also security challenges posed by Boko Haram in the north-eastern parts of Nigeria as well as in the bordering countries of Cameroon, chad and Niger.”  He reminded the gathering that ECOWAS will be 40 years since its formation and “quest for strong economic development and regional integration”, which aspirations he said have been severely hampered by several factors including political instability.President Mahama also predicted that 2015 will be hectic and demanding for West Africa and its people as the sub-region’s commitment to multi-party democracy and governance comes under test with five national elections. Nigeria, Togo, Burkina Fasso, Guinea and Cote D’Ivoire all go to the polls in 2015.He said reports of the ECOWAS pre-elections missions dispatched 

Ghana, Togo to harvest water from Volta Lake

Ghana and Togo have renewed their commit-ment to implement a project to harvest water from the Volta River and export it from Sogakope to Lome.Known as the Sogakope–Lome Trans-boundary Water Supply Project, the initiative has been on the drawing board since 1970 but lack of funds and technical challenges stalled its implementation.The two countries are now exploring a public private partnership to reactivate the project which will also ensure the supply of potable water to communities in the southeastern part of Ghana, including Ehie, Denu, Agbozume, Tokor Betsima, Gamadzra Anyako, Kilkor, Avoene, Sogakope and Akatsi.The project will include the construction of a raw water intake facility at Sogakope to draw water from the Volta River for potable water production.A water treatment plant and an 82 kilometre water transmission pipeline will also be constructed between Sogakope in Ghana and Segbe in Togo as part of the project.The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Togo last Friday.Signing for Ghana, the Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Alhaji Collins Dauda, said the agreement paves the way for a feasibility study to be undertaken to ascertain the actual scope and cost of the project prior to its implementation.Alhaji Dauda said the feasibility study was expected to upgrade a former study conducted in 2005 on the project.He explained that an upgrade had become necessary because the population and other indicators used in the former study - 10 years ago - had changed and, therefore, it had to be upgraded to determine the actual scope and cost of the project currently.The feasibility study has been scheduled for 14 months, beginning in January 2015 under the auspices of the African Development Bank (AFDB).Alhaji Dauda said a consultant had already been appointed to facilitate the commencement of the feasibility studies.According to him, both governments considering the benefits of the project have decided to implement it now under the local public-private partnership (PPP) agreement.The PPP agreement will ensure that through a water purchase agreement, the two countries would not make any direct investment into the project.He explained that a private investor would be given the opportunity to carry out the project and sell the potable water produced to the government of Ghana to be supplied to Lome and other targeted communities in Ghana.The Minister of Rural Equipment, Togo, Mr Nabagou Bissoune, commended the presidents of both countries for their interest and commitment to ensuring that the project was implemented to enhance water supply in both countries.According to him, the provision of potable water, particularly in Lome, has been very challenging due to the absence of enough natural water bodies.Mr Bissoune said as a result ground water had been overexploited, particularly through the construction of more boreholes.He acknowledged that the completion of the project would ensure the provision of safe, reliable and affordable water to the people of Lome.

$8bn Oil project ratified

Parliament on Thursday ratified an agreement for the development of the Sankofa and Gye Nyame oil and gas project offshore Cape Three Points.It will cost $8 billion, with the controversial $700 million loan being contracted by the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) as a counterpart or equity funding.Some minority members strongly opposed the ratification saying that the issue of the $700 million GNPC loan had to be critically scrutinised and analysed before the ratification so as to allow the project, which is to be undertaken by ENI Exploration & Production Company and VITOL Upstream Ghana Limited, to take off.The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Old Tafo and a ranking member of the Finance Committee, Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei; NPP MP for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong; NPP MP for Manhyia South, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh and NPP MP for Dormaa Central, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, argued strongly that parliament ought to be cautious and do more due diligence before approval was given to the project which was going to cost so much and which would also involve the future of the country’s oil and gas industry.The MPs were also exceedingly worried about the fact that the GNPC counterpart funding had not been sanctioned by parliament and the fact that there is no sovereign guarantee attached to the loan.According to Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei, the agreement is too complex and that members would have to be given ample time to study it and make meaningful inputs, since it is the biggest project to be undertaken in the country’s oil industry.The NPP MP for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong wondered why a loan of that magnitude should not be approved by parliament, adding that money for GNPC operations under the budget, which is far less than the loan, had to be brought to parliament for scrutiny and approval.“We cannot trust the GNPC people with this loan because even the budget that they always present to parliament for approval which is meant for their operations for the year, some monies are set aside without spending,” he said.He stressed that he was able to detect that $60 million of the money budgeted for expenditure last year had been set aside for no apparent reason and when he raised the alarm, the GNPC quickly withdrew their budget and brought a new one with lower expenditure without the $60 million that had been set aside.According to him, from the above action, officials of the GNPC must not be trusted and that was the reason why the minority MPs were calling for more scrutiny of the $700 million.“It may be that the money will be too big for that project or less than what is required for the project and parliament could make recommendations after the scrutiny and approval for the money to be either reduced or increased,” he observed.The MP for Manhyia South said parliament had allowed GNPC to become untouchable.“Mr. Speaker, it is time we exercised our power to let GNPC account to the people of this country,” he said, adding that operations of GNPC must be subjected to parliamentary scrutiny.The deputy minority leader, Dominic Nitiwul and the majority leader, Alban Bagbin, strongly supported the argument that there should be some level of parliamentary oversight over operations of GNPC.The speaker, Edward Doe Adjaho, also agreed with them and asked the leadership of both the majority and the minority to find a parliamentary avenue where officials of GNPC would be summoned before the House to account to the people of the country.The speaker said that in view of the importance of the agreement and the current energy crisis that the country is facing, early ratification of the project would help solve the problem since the Sankofa and Gye Nyame fields abound in huge gas reserves.

Enerst &Young appointed statisticians for Oil and Gas Awards

Organisers of the Ghana Oil and Gas Awards have appointed international auditing firm, Ernst and Young to collate and validate results for the awards.The move, according to the organisers, is to ensure transparency and also allay the fears of alleged underhand dealings in awards processes.The awards, slated for December 19 this year, is to recognise achievements of local and international companies involved in the country’s oil and gas sector, and also reward those that have played a defining role in moving the industry forward.The ceremony will acknowledge the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Year in Upstream and Downstream, Lifetime Achievement, Exploration (Drilling and Well Completion Excellence), Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility, Excellence in Health, Safety, Environment, and Quality, Engineering and Construction Company of the Year, Logistics Company of the Year and Haulage Company of the Year.A statement issued in Accra by the Events Director, Mr Richard Abbey Jnr, said operators in the oil and gas fields that had excelled in the sector in spite of difficulties would be rewarded.“We want to find out who those performers are in the Ghana Oil and Gas Awards (GOGA 2014),” the statement said.“In times like this, when the oil and gas sector is faced with consistent challenges, the ability of organisations, as well as the people involved in the industry to deliver the technologies, financial packages, insurance products, best practices, and initiatives to succeed, is crucial,” the statement added.The chairperson of the awards, Ms Joyce Rosalind Aryee, stressed that local content initiative, upstream and innovative products among other categories would also be rewarded.Other areas such as downstream, Brand of the Year, Marketing Campaign of the Year, Oil and Gas Financial Services Provider of the Year, Oil and Gas Insurer of the Year, Lubricant Product of the Year, Bulk Distributor of the Year, Promising Oil Company of the Year, Depot of the Year, Consulting and Recruitment Company of the Year, Policy Activist of the Year will be recognised.

Accra listed among 35 Most Resilient Cities

Accra has been listed among thirty-five (35) Most Resilient Cities in the world.And with that feat, it means that the capital city of Ghana would benefit from the Rockefeller Foundation’s $1,000,000 fund which assists cities around the world to develop.Speaking at the 2014 Global Urban Resilience Summit in Singapore, President of the Rockefeller Foundation, Dr. Judith Rodin, applauded efforts of the Mayor of Accra, Dr. Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije, for his “leadership role and tireless efforts” in ensuring that his city becomes a resilient one through innovations such as the Millennium City School project.According to him, three hundred and thirty applications, representing ninety countries and six continents were received.Cities selected included Amman—Jordan, Arusha—Tanzania, Athen—Greece, Barcelona—Spain, Belgrade, Bengaluru, and Boston.The rest were California—USA, Colombia, Chennai—India, Chicago—USA, Dallas—USA, Deyang—China, Enugu—Nigeria, Huangshi—China, Juarez—Mexico, Kigali—Rwanda, Lisbon—Portugal, London—United Kingdom, Milan—Italy, Montreal—Canada, Paris—France, Phnom Penh—Cambodia, Pittsburgh—USA, San Juan—USA, Santa Fe—Argentina, Santiago de los Caballeros—Dominican Republic, Santiago—Chile, Singapore, St. Louis—USA, and Sydney—Australia.Dr. Judith Rodin acknowledged the “toughness” in choosing the thirty-five out of three hundred and thirty cities due to the uniqueness of each city’s application and things enumerated to build a resilient city.Rockefeller Foundation initiative was launched 2008 with the focus on a pilot group of 10 cities in India, Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia to support the Asian cities climate change, resilience network with stakeholders to develop, test and demonstrate practical strategies to responding to the impacts of climate change.Rockefeller Foundation per these nominations would support the AMA financially in the areas where the resilience of stress and shocks were identified during times when the city was exposed to these hazards.For his part, Mayor of Accra, Dr. Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije, noted that it was “refreshing” that mayors from 100 cities would have the privilege to come together to share ideas for the good of their people.He expressed gratitude to the president of the Foundation for the honour done Accra to be mentioned among 35 cities in the summit as having being selected among the top 100 resilient cities in the world.

US$95m facility to boost food production

ment has secured a US$95 million facility to transform the country’s agricultural sector to improve incomes of farmers to enable them step up production in the interests of job creation and food security.President John Dramani Mahama, who disclosed this at this year’s Farmers’ Day celebration held at Sefwi Wiawso in the Western Region, said that the facility will support all sectors of agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture and will help to reduce the country’s import bills.The facility, he said, will support farmers in machinery, inputs, extension services, vehicles and other support services to enable beneficiary farmers to achieve their targets in the coming years.President Mahama said government will continue educate farmers to adopt modern farming technologies by making available to them workable services that will scale-up production and encouraged Ghanaians to take up farming as a business venture and just as a way of life as it is perceived to be.This year’s celebration on the theme “Eat What You Grow” was attended by award winners and previous winners, ministers of state, traditional authorities, religious leaders, farmers' associations and members of the business community.President Mahama was appreciative of the theme for this year’s event in view of the fact that government was doing everything possible to reduce importation of food that the country had comparative advantage in.Mr. Fifi Kwetey, Minister of Food and Agriculture, congratulated farmers, especially those who picked awards at the celebration, for their hard work and gave the assurance that the Government would ensure there was food sufficiency for both the country and for export.He said government will work closely with farmers by creating financial support for them to step up agribusiness.Mr. George Asamoah Amankwa, a 49-year old farmer, who emerged the 2014 Best Farmer, received 100,000 dollars to put up a house at his place of choice, while Nana Obeng Wiako III of Upper Denkyira and Mr. Yaw Gyan from Wenchi, placed second and third respectively

We need subsidies and loans – V/R Best Farmer

Inesfly to support farmers fight post-harvest losses

Gov’t to tap fish resources of Bui Dam, Volta lake

The Bui Dam, the Volta Lake and Lower Volta Basin will all see some investment into tapping their natural resources as part of measures towards cultivating more fish for local consumption.“The development plan for fisheries will see the vast untapped natural resources in the Volta Lake, the Lower Volta basin and the Bui Dam receiving much needed investment,” President John Mahama said at the 30th National Best Farmers Day Awards ceremony at Sefwi Wiawso in the Western Region Friday December 5, 2014.It is part of a 5-year aquaculture plan being rolled out by the Government to shore up fish production to meet the country’s huge consumption capacity.“…It is heartwarming to note that Ghana is among the highest fish-consuming countries in the world – I’m sure you didn’t know this – with a per capita consumption of between 23 and 25 kilogrammes of fish while the world average for fish consumption is 13kg. If you take the average consumption of fish across the world it is 13 kgs. In Ghana, per capita, we consume between 23 and 25kgs of fish per annum,” President Mahama said.He said: “In Ghana fish provides 60% of the animal protein we require. And our main challenge is how to meet the demand for fish locally.”The demand for fish in 2013 was estimated at over 968,000 metric tonnes but Ghana’s total fish production, locally, was just about 50% of the demand.“So it means that we have had to import half of the fish that we consume in this country. For this reason, I have asked the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture to implement a 5-year aquaculture development plan. And this plan, which we have begun implementing, will stretch from 2013 to 2018. And the plan will seek to improve production, marketing and environmental sustainability of fish farming as a viable enterprise,” the President said.He said: “Here again fish farming can be a business. You can produce fish commercially for the market and there is a ready market for fish all over the country.”“Out of this aquaculture plan, the intention is to increase aquaculture production of fish from current 27,750 metric tonnes to about 130,000 metric tonnes by 2018.“This will make more fish available to Ghanaians at reasonable prices and we will be able to eat more locally produced fish. It will generate employment and revenue for our fisherfolk and it is estimated that it will create 220,000 jobs.”

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