Ghana received £11.9 millions from Europe to support decentralisation

The European Union (EU) has this month paid €11.9 million (GHC 52 mill
ion) to support decentralization in Ghana. The grant supports the decentralization reform process of the country that aims to improve service delivery at the district level. In the framework of the European Union's Financing Agreement with Ghana, the amount of GHC 52 million has been released to the treasury to support the implementation of the National Decentralisation Action Plan 2015-2019. This is the fourth instalment of a programme amounting to a total of 45 million Euros or GHC 198.3 million. The new payment of 11.9 million Euros was disbursed following the good results of decentralisation process monitored in the past 12 months. Key achievements include measures taken in favour of better dedicated staff at the District level, to strengthen local level capacity to participate in planning and budgeting, to have timely disbursement of funds from the District Assemblies Common Fund to the Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) and the improvement of the functioning of the feeder roads system. On the occasion of the disbursement, William Hanna, Ambassador of the European Union said "The European Union is working with Ghana to ensure that more citizens get better services at local level such as –feeder roads or social protection. We aim to strengthen local authorities to play their role in better accountability, transparency and service delivery. “The Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies are crucial partners of central government, who should both implement and add to national development efforts. The Decentralisation reform in Ghana is making headway, and that’s why we are backing it with financial support, along with other development partners,” he added.

Ghana’s apparels industry has huge potentials - Ms Coffie

The Chief Executive Officer of Anowah Afrique Limited (AAL) Ms Catherine Nana Esi Anowah Coffie, has called for governmental support for the apparel industry to create more jobs. "The sector has huge potential to contribute towards the growth of our economy and Ghanaian companies has the expertise to produce for both the domestic and international market." Ms Coffie, who is also the Founder of the Women‘s Development Foundation (WDF), made this remarks shortly after been inducted into the West Africa Nobles Forum for her contribution towards the development of women, children and the vulnerable in society at a ceremony in Accra. Located in the Tema Free Zones enclave, AAL has the capacity to employ 2,500 workers but currently employs 200 Ghanaians and produces 500 pieces of fabrics daily for the export market.

The company also has modern state-of-the-art sewing machines and equipment for all industrial and commercial purposes.

Italy partners Ghana on clauster fisheries creation!

Ghana and Italy have agreed to promote and create fisheries clusters in the country. A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed to that effect in Accra between the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development and Mazara del Vallo-Cosvop of Italy. Sector Minister Sherry Ayittey initialed for Ghana while Giovanni Tumbioli, President of the Fish District of Italy signed for his country. Madam Ayittey revealed that a fish health policy to monitor the quality of fish sold to consumers will be launched at the end of this month. The fish cluster was born out of a meeting in Rome, Italy last December by the ministry of fisheries and aquaculture development with the fish development district of Italy. Italy agreed to partner Ghana to research and train in marine research in order to boost the sector to create jobs. At the signing of the MOU in Accra, sector minister, Sherry Ayittey said countries such as Norway though rich in oil resources, has a fisheries sector as the main stay of their economy. Ghana can do same when the appropriate resources and investments are channelled into the sector. President of the fish district of Italy said Ghana must take scientific research on oceans seriously. This will pave the way for further education on how to improve fields and control the fisheries sector in this age of climate change. A steering committee to oversee the activities of the collaboration was inaugurated with Madam Sherry Ayittey as the chairperson. Dubbed the blue economy, the fish clusters when started, will increase its one billion dollars in revenue annually to about 3.5 billion.

We are ready to help investors acquire land Trade Ministry

Ministry of Trade and Industry has expressed its readiness to assist foreign investors acquire lands to set up manufacturing firms in the country. The assurance comes after the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana Madam Sun Baohong told Citi Business News that even though a number of Chinese investors are ready to relocate to Ghana to establish their businesses, the move could be hindered by challenges in land acquisition. Earlier, the Minister for Trade and Industry Dr. Ekwow Spio-Grabrah announced that some Chinese investors have officially written to Ghana to relocate their businesses to the country to have access to raw materials. Speaking to Citi Business News on the issue, the Deputy Communication Manager at the Ministry of Trade and Industry Nasir Ahmed Yartey explained that with the current administrative reforms, land acquisition is now less cumbersome provided an investor is ready to go through the legal processes to acquire it. “The acquisition of lands for investment purposes shouldn’t be a challenge to any investor so long as the investor goes through the appropriate route and deal with the rightful authorities,” he said. Mr. Yartey explained that the Ministry of Trade and Industry has aided investors by directing them to the Ghana Investment Promotion Center, and the Lands Commission, guiding investors on the legal procedures in acquiring lands for manufacturing purposes. “Even under the Ministry of Trade and Industry, we have the Free Zones Board and they have the power to declare any area as a Free Zone enclave to aid in setting up manufacturing companies,” he said. Mr. Yartey stated that, as part of the conditions the investor must venture into production of value added products with the intention of exporting to generate income for the country. “As I speak to you we have Free Zone enclaves in Sekondi, Takoradi and Accra. So far as the purpose of the acquisition is value addition and manufacturing with the intended purpose of export, then an investor shouldn’t have any challenges,” he stressed. He cited for example that the Lands Commission has in recent times outdoored a robust service to allow both local and foreign investors have access to lands for establishing manufacturing firms.

"Abrofoh Nkatie" can save Ghana -Prof Tano Debrsh

Professor Tano-Debrah of the University of Ghana Department of Nutrition and Food Science has maintained that the tropical almond tree (terminalia catappa) known locally as Abrofo Nkatie (Twi) or Gugianbaturi (Hausa) has the economic potential to save Ghana.

Professor Tano-Debrah, who did his Phd in Hiroshima and is a Marie-Curie Fellow is an expert on agricultural oil extraction and has published very widely on the issue.

He said the almond tree can produce fruit within two and half years and can grow anywhere, as it needs hardly any water. He also said the tree harvests three times a year with a very good yield for the land used.

Most importantly, he said, the oil which can be extracted cheaply and easily has a very high value of ten to twelve thousand US dollars per ton on the international market, whilst cocoa has never exceeded three thousand six hundred dollars a ton for the last three hundred years and oil palm is about one thousand dollars per ton. Professor Tano-Debrah made these remarks when the Presidential Candidate of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Ivor Kobina Greenstreet, led a delegation to interact with the Professor at the University of Ghana, Legon.

At the recent IEA evening encounter, the CPP Flag-bearer, referred to the potential use of the tropical almond tree for generating billions of dollars for Ghana as well as it being a potential job creation vehicle for the growing number of unemployed in the country. “…California earns billions of dollars a year from the almond tree,” he pointed out.

Professor Tano-Debrah gave further details of the uses of the almond tree including but not limited to health (pharmaceuticals), environmental (afforestation-carbon sequestration and food uses), oil, animal feed etc. He also stated that Nana Kwesi Abura, an almond tree expert had invented an advanced processing machine.

Beyond the derivatives from almond tree the CPP flag-bearer also expressed delight that the Department was already involved in economic activities including nicely processed Ice Kenkey milk. “These are the sorts of activities we shall upscale as it represents self determination in practice” he said.

The flag-bearer’s delegation included the Chairman and Leader of CPP, Professor E. N. Delle, First Vice Chairman, Hajia Ham Datu Haruna, Second Vice Chairman Susan Adu-Amankwa and National Campaign Coordinator Rashid Alao.

How India's 'smart villages' are centralising solar power

Indian villagers at a solar farmImage
Image caption
For the roughly 200 million Indians living off-grid, access to power is a privilege, not a right
The Indian government has committed 980bn rupees ($14.5bn; £10.9bn) to a flagship smart cities' programme, but the social entrepreneur behind the country's first smart village thinks they've missed some low-hanging fruit.
City-dwellers tend to take electricity for granted, says Ashok Das, but for the roughly 200 million Indians living off-grid, access to power is a privilege, not a right.
Mr Das says that makes them a fertile ground for experimenting with smarter ways of using energy that could help the rural poor leapfrog traditional power networks to a greener, community-led approach.
"Changing consumer behaviour in a big city is a major problem," he says. "It will take decades to build smart cities, but I can get thousands of smart villages done in that time."
After a decade in the US semiconductor industry, Mr Das returned to India in 2005 where he transitioned into a green tech consultant.
But despite the huge sums directed into renewables, he saw very little focus on energy access for rural communities who could benefit most.
Gift of light
Visiting a family in a non-electrified village near his hometown in the northern state of Bihar in 2010 hardened his resolve to do something.
"I remember asking my niece, 'what can I bring you?' and she said, 'Uncle, I have everything, just bring me light,'" he says.
India's green energy sector has a tendency to "sell and run" - high-end equipment is installed, but a lack of maintenance support for remote villages means systems often fall into disrepair, he adds.

Indian farmers look at a solar farmImage
Image caption
India's green energy sector has a tendency to "sell and run"
Village children study under electric lightImage copyrightASHOK DAS
Image caption
It will take decades to build smart cities, but thousands of smart villages can get done in that time
So Mr Das decided to create a smart grid technology that allows a village's entire electrical infrastructure to be monitored remotely.
In January, Chhotkei in Orissa became India's first smart village powered by the Smart NanoGrid technology developed by his company SunMoksha.
Power is provided by a 30KW solar plant and meters and sensors collect data on energy usage and system health.
Remote access
This information is fed into SunMoksha's cloud-based monitoring system, which can be accessed by the company's staff anywhere.
This makes it possible to remotely manage supply and demand and schedule power-hungry activities like irrigation pumping for agriculture and new microenterprises that have sprung up, like a food packaging business and a store that sells cold drinks.
Wi-Fi hotspots let villagers access local intranet via a language-independent mobile app to view their consumption, pay bills and register complaints.
If users exceed their allowance, they can be shut off to avoid overloading the grid and faults can be spotted remotely before villagers trained in basic repairs are sent to fix them.
Set-up costs for the project were met by the Finnish power company Wartsila's corporate social responsibility programme, but on-going expenses are covered by usage-based subscriptions paid to a village committee that maintains the grid.

A villager repairs a part of the grid
Image caption
Villagers trained in basic repairs can help maintain the grid
SunMoksha's local partner is the Odisha (Orissa) Renewable Energy Development Agency (OREDA).
Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to electrify every Indian village in 1,000 days, and in Orissa, OREDA is responsible for installing renewable power solutions in remote villages.
But deputy director Ashok Choudhury says most projects are simple solar home lighting systems.

"When you ask villagers what's their priority for getting electricity they always prioritise livelihood. Number two is entertainment and number three is illumination," he says.
"We always do the third priority first, so we don't make much headway because our programme can't support livelihoods."
Even with larger installations, the difficulty of monitoring and maintaining systems means they often break down.
But for a 15 to 20% mark-up on the cost of a solar plant and microgrid, Mr Choudhury says the Smart NanoGrid makes projects sustainable.
"You get a lot more control," he says. "It brings a real solution to a village; otherwise we install a system and don't know what happens to it when we leave."

Television watchersI
Image caption
Most projects at this village are still only simple solar home lighting systems
Mr Choudhury is keen to incorporate the technology in all the agency's future microgrid developments.
Following a demonstration day at the village in April, secretary in the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) Upendra Tripathy agreed to support 10 pilot projects by providing 30% of the funds.
"I've seen plenty of microgrids, but the combination of technology in this village is a first," he says. "It's the integration and the remote monitoring. That's where they've done wonders."
Last month, SunMoksha won in the 'Smart Village' category at the 2016 Smart Cities India Awards and it is now in the process of submitting proposals for the first MNRE pilot - a smart village cluster in Orissa.
The railway board also wants them to look at using train stations as local power hubs for nearby houses and businesses, and several mining firms want to use the technology to provide power for settlements relocated due to mining activities.
Power management is the main focus, but the system is sensor-agnostic and Mr Das says it could also make villages truly smart by monitoring things like water consumption or environmental factors for agriculture.
The pilot village is so remote it currently relies on a satellite data connection, which is too expensive for general internet use.
But the communications network the system puts in place provides a backbone for future e-governance, telemedicine and tele-education applications, he says.
"The smart grid acts as a catalyst in the village and then all these other things become possible," says Mr Das. "The potential is huge."

US FDI in Ghana hits $ 13 billion

The American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) Ghana has affirmed the commitment of the US business community to the promotion of trade and investment between Ghana and the United States of America (USA).

“With US foreign direct investment (FDI) in Ghana increasing to about US$13 billion as of 2014, we at the chamber say congratulations to the various US companies which have enhanced US-Ghana economic relations with their investments,” a statement from the chamber to commemorate the 240th Independence Day of the USA said.

It said the core mandate of the chamber was to advocate US businesses and by extension the promotion of FDIs in this country.

“It also creates the enabling environment in which Ghanaian and US businesses can thrive, promoting the spirit of free enterprise, creating opportunity and prosperity for our two countries,” the release said.

The chamber recalled a survey conducted by PwC, which said 40 per cent of our members, between 2004 and 2014, invested about US$12 billion in capital and operational expenditure.

The release said about US$1 billion was also paid in taxes, royalties and on corporate social responsibility over the 10-year period.

“These companies intend to spend about US$3.5 billion in the Ghanaian economy between 2015 and 2020 and they directly employ about 7,000 Ghanaians,” it said.