Lord Winners Microfinance attracts investors to revive operations

Lord Winners Microfinance Company is confident of bouncing back to operations, following an investor interest to inject capital into the business.

The firm has been in financial distress, resulting in failed attempts by customers to access their deposits.

Branches of the microfinance firm have been closed for weeks, following panic withdrawal and vandalization of property by some customers.

At an open forum organized by the firm in Kumasi, clients poured their anger on managers of the microfinance firm.

Chief Executive Officer, Joseph Ampah, however assured them of getting back their contributions.

He says there are arrangements to refund clients of their deposits within the next month but pleaded for patience to refund their contributions.

Mr. Ampah tells Luv Biz Report all branches in Kumasi, Hwidiem and Tepa are re-opening for business from Monday.

He will not disclose the source of additional funding but says the cash flow will help sustain the business.

A number of microfinance institutions in the Ashanti region and other parts of the country have either collapsed or faced liquidity challenges in the past few months.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh

Roots and tubers provide great opportunities for long-term food security

Improving the competitiveness of root and tubers will help in alleviating poverty in Africa, considering that 80 percent of people in the rural areas depend on agriculture as a source of livelihood, says President John Dramani Mahama.

“Root and tuber crops (sweet potato, cassava, and yams) provide great opportunities for long-term poverty alleviation and food security much more than any other staple foods produced in the African, Caribbean and Pacific regions,” he said.

Mr. Mahama who was represented by Mohammed Alfa, Deputy Minister of Environment, Science and Technology Innovation at the 12^th symposium organized by the International Society for Tropical Root Crops-Africa Branch (ISTRC-AB) in Ghana.

The Accra symposium is coming at a time when global attention on agriculture is trending up. It provided scientists and partners in development the opportunity to reexamine the competitiveness of root and tuber crops with a view to harnessing their potential and accelerating Africa's economic growth.

Dr Nzola Mahungu, ISTRC-AB President, said “root and tuber crops play an important role in ensuring food security in Africa, and we must tap the opportunities of these crops.”

Widely consumed across Africa, root and tuber crops play a key role in the continent, providing incomes for farmers, generating wealth, and cushioning the effect of cereals’ shortfall.

Cassava, for instance, is a source of livelihood for over 300 million people in Africa, and with climate change the root crop is becoming increasingly important, thanks to its ability to withstand drought and growth on soils with marginal fertility.

“But the potential of these crops is yet to be fully exploited,” Dr Mahungu said.

The conference provides a window of opportunity for partners to compare notes and develop strategies that will unleash the potential of the root and tuber crops. 

Specific areas of interest include: African root crops trade and market scenarios; Policies favorable to competitiveness of root crops in Africa; African scenario on production and utilization of root and tuber crops; Business and investment scenarios on competitiveness of root crops in Africa—benchmarking Latin American, Asian and European markets (Learning from Latin American, Asian & European industries); and mobilizing investors for sustainable root and tuber crops research and development.

IITA Deputy Director General (Partnerships and Capacity Development), Dr Kenton Dashiell commended the ISTRC-AB team for organizing the meeting, adding that it was timely especially in light of the growing threats to food security and rising unemployment in the continent.

He noted that if properly harnessed, the root and tuber crops would help in absorbing the burgeoning number of unemployed youths, and put this pool of human resource to productive use.

He also called on scientists to ensure that their research outputs were creating the desired change at the farm level by addressing the constraints of development.

UN Climate Report sparks Global Month of Action on Energy

A global alliance of movements, activists and NGOs has declared the month of October and early November as a “Global Month of Action on Energy” to “Reclaim Power” over climate change.

The month will see international days focused on dangerous and harmful energy sources as well as promoting the requisite community renewable energy solutions.

This comes on the heels of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's latest report that confirms climate change caused by human emissions is not only happening but accelerating, with devastating consequences for both people and the planet.

"The IPCC has confirms what many millions of people in the developing world are already well aware of, namely that the weather patterns have already changed for the worse. People in richer countries are vulnerable too, as recent floods, droughts and storms in Europe, North America and Australia have shown, but because of political inertia and powerful vested interests that have dominated media narratives for decades, they are less aware of the links between these impacts and their carbon emissions,” says Dr Saleemul Huq, senior fellow in climate change group of the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).

 

The landmark report by the UN's climate panel says scientists are 95% certain that humans are the "dominant cause" of global warming since the 1950s. On the ground, in the air, in the oceans, global warming is "unequivocal", it explained.

Protests against dirty energy companies in South Africa and Bangladesh coinciding with the release of the report, demonstrating growing public outrage at failed, dirty and harmful energy systems, particularly in light of the latest climate science.

The alliance is united to announce that the energy transformation begins right now. 

  

"All around the world people are rallying to respond to the climate emergency. We are harnessing our knowledge, our vision, our will, our compassion, and our solidarity - to fight climate change and its causes, and to build solutions that work for people and don't destroy the planet," the Reclaim Power call to action says.

"The energy sector is the largest and fastest growing contributor to climate change globally -- 35% of all human GHG emissions come from this sector," the call says. "Yet there are more than 1.3 billion people with no access to electricity, and many more with barely enough. It is a great injustice that current energy systems are bringing grave harm to people and the planet."

The call concludes that "in various part of the world, people are proving that these alternative energy systems are possible and feasible, defending their right to build these systems, and giving us hope for our future".

Close to 20 international organisations issuing have committed to taking action over the month include the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA).

Mithika Mwenda, General Secretary of PACJA, has noted that people living in poverty are the consequences hardest. “When food production and water availability decreases, weakening public health and people's everyday lives dramatically affected, hampered not only the UN's work for poverty reduction - the progress achieved so far risk being wiped out”.

According to him, mankind's two biggest challenges – poverty and the rapid warming – are tied; “And to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals, which will create conditions for sustainable global development and a better world, the world must tackle both problems simultaneously”.

Ghana’s 2013 economy and labour front – matters arising

Ghana’s 2013 economy and labour front – matters arising

The last quarter of 2013 is posting what a street vendor of newspapers has described as “interesting times” in Ghana’s economic outlook and labour productivity.

According to financial market analysts, the outlook for the equities market remains optimistic for the final four months of 2013, as they anticipate the successful adjudication of Ghana’s electoral dispute to restore business and consumer confidence and to speed up recovery of the larger economy.

The country’s growth had slowed in the first two quarters of the year and deep into the third quarter.

Power rationing, coupled with the introduction of new taxes has impacted heavily on manufacturing and industrial production.

There was a 20% hike in petroleum prices and transport fares in September and from October utility tariffs are going up – 78.9% for electricity and 52% for water.

These are expected to raise the cost of living, against the 17% increase in the National Daily Minimum Wage announced in September.

Crude oil, Ghana’s second biggest export earner, generated some revenue to sustain the economy, but targets for cocoa sale are unstable and gold is losing its shine prices on the international market drop steadily.

Industry is worried at the rising cost of production, high taxation and unbridled import of cheap inferior imports.

There are fears of business collapse, employee redundancy and high unemployment – mining firms have already taken steps to downsize in order to contain the rising cost of production.

Ghanaian businesses want government to reduce the cost of borrowing to mitigate the effect of the utility tariff and tax hikes to ease the cost of doing business.

Already, strategic State economic institutions have indicated government is likely to miss three of the most important economic targets for 2013 - overall economic growth (Gross Domestic Product), inflation (Consumer Price Index), and the fiscal deficit.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is also not so confident, concluding that it will be difficult for the government to keep the deficit below 10% of GDP.

Yet, the some foreign investors, including the Australian Trade Commission, sees Ghana as a destination of choice for many of its companies, identifying investments in natural resources, agribusiness and education as the main opportunity areas for investors.

The Commission has however identified lack of reliable infrastructure, statistical information and data for decision making as well as lack of highly skilled workforce as areas that need attention.

Kofi Adu Domfeh’s observation…

Ghana Electrometer pilots Smart G pre-paid meters in Ashanti

The roll out of a new technology will see electricity consumers in Ghana purchase and use power like their mobile phone credit recharge system.

The Ghana Electrometer (GEM) company is partnering the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to deploy the ‘Smart G pre-paid meters’ in the country.

Under the project, the ECG would be providing scratch cards that can be bought from vendors anywhere. This is expected to improve service efficiency and increase the company’s cash flow.

The Ashanti-West Region of ECG is piloting the meter installation.

Director of Operations and External Relations at GEM, Obed Solomon, tells Luv Biz Report the pilot phase will last between 3-6 months before full project implementation.

“The numbers we are talking about are quite big and so the pilot will cover about 2,000 meters and the implementation itself should take off first quarter of 2014”, he said.

Under the full roll out plan, all existing meters are expected to be replaced with the new Smart G pre-paid meters. 

Obed describes the technology as unique in offering consumers comfort and choice in the purchase and consumption of power.

According to him, customers will have more options to purchase power because “you could enter into a shop or buy by the roadside some credit on the scratch card to load credit on your meter or you could just send SMS and credit will be transferred straight to your meter”.

The project is also expected to create job avenues, especially in merchandising the scratch cards.

GEM is the country's only locally based electricity metering company.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh

Driving green in Ghana to mitigate pollution and climate change

Vehicular emissions are becoming alarming in cities of developing economies like Ghana, where an average of 150,000 vehicles are registered annually, according to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA).

Some of these cars are new from the factory, but the majority is marketed fairly used or damaged in their countries of origin, mostly from the European or American economies.

These used cars are often auctioned as salvage and sold through dealerships in countries like Ghana.

An ensuing debate is which type of vehicle – new or old – contributes most to environmental pollution and global warming?

“The energy and pollution created by building a new vehicle is far greater than repairing and restoring an existing vehicle. So from a green standpoint, repairing a car and putting them back on the road is much more environmentally friendly,” argued Dan Oscarson of the Insurance Auto Auctions (IAA) in the USA, a company that specializes in selling lightly damaged and repairable vehicles to buyers all over the world.

 

Most cars run on petroleum, a fossil fuel. Emissions produced by motor vehicles occur when the internal combustion engines release substances considered pollutants and unhealthy to humans and the environment.

Two major concerns associated with car exhaust emissions are the emissions of various types which contribute to urban air pollution and emissions of greenhouse gases which contribute to climate change.

For a developing country, affording a brand new vehicle is a luxury to majority of the population. But does this economic determinant makes used cars environmentally better than new ones?

Sayeed Iddi, an Operations Manager at Toyota Ghana, disagrees, though he acknowledges the high energy required in producing a new car.

According to him, “vehicles are made for specific areas and they are made with the mind that emissions and everything are taken into consideration, and emission is all about the exhaust coming from engines; so if the engine is not working properly , it increases emissions.”

He noted that some new cars are fitted with components that convert carbon dioxide and others into gases that are rather friendly to the environment.

Mr. Oscarson also states that the auctioned vehicles were “registered by an owner in the United States and met all of the emission and safety requirements required for automobiles in the United States and then sustained some physical damage.”

He therefore concludes that “repairing cars is really the ultimate recycling story; extending life by 15-20 years on many of these vehicles is a very environmentally friendly situation”.

For a country which does not produce vehicles, it would be important for Ghana to concentrate on establishing a vehicular emission reduction programme to set standards for the motoring public.

Mr. Iddi, therefore, insists car owners in advanced economies are disposing off their old cars to avoid high taxes for high exhaust emissions.

“Once the car begins to grow a bit older, then they begin to charge you more because as it grows your emission grows, that is when they dispose them off and they sell them out here [Ghana] cheaply”, he observed.

The DVLA has indicated it will soon start an emission test on vehicles in Ghana to ensure they emit acceptable levels of carbon.

This forms part of a mechanism to reduce carbon emission and also in line with the Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) strategy to help mitigate the impact of climate change on Ghanaians.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh

Farmers rewarded with bonuses for producing UTZ certified cocoa

Cocoa farmers in parts of the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo regions have received cocoa certification bonuses and other incentives from Noble Resources and Ferrero.

Members of the Ahafo Ano North and South UTZ Cocoa Farmers Association (AHANSUCOFA) received bonuses for complying with UTZ Certification code of conduct for cocoa.

Noble Resources paid Gh¢322,560 ($148,816) for 1400 metric tonnes of exportable certified beans sold through Federated Commodities, a licenced cocoa buying company.

The farmers, after undergoing training in UTZ certification requirements through Solidaridad, produced 3337.4 metric tonnes (53.398 bags) of UTZ certified cocoa beans delivered to the company from 3223 farmers.

Noble Resources and Ferrero – a major chocolate manufacturer – have been funding the training of AHANSUCOFA farmers in UTZ certification and the implementation of internal control system towards achieving cocoa sustainability and improved livelihoods for the farmers.

The World Cocoa Foundation and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have also given support for the livelihoods, gender and food security components of the project.

Both Noble Resources and Ferrero have emphasised commitment to sourcing sustainably produced cocoa devoid of child labour, unapproved chemical usage and deforestation.

Solidaridad uses cocoa certification training to support sustainability and improved livelihoods as it demands cocoa farmers to comply with social, environmental and economic requirements in line with the UTZ code of conduct, for improved productivity and income, environmental protection, best labour practices including prevention of child labour in exchange for a premium price on the produce.

According to Isaac Gyamfi, Managing Director, Solidaridard West Africa, “to enhance their livelihoods, AHANSUCOFA farmers established a cocoa nursery project in 36 communities that has produced 299,500 improved seedlings for replanting.  It has also produced 26,040 shade trees planted to promote reforestation.”

A total of 340 members of the association were trained as Spray Service Providers to spray members’ farms for pest and disease control, providing complimentary services to the government’s mass spraying initiative.

The farmers are also trained in business management skills, quality control to help them manage their incomes and monitor profitability. They also receive gender training to increase female participation in cocoa production to promote gender equality and development.

Solidaridad West Africa initiated AHANSUCOFA in 2009 as a pilot project of its Cocoa Improvement Programme with support from the Dutch Sustainable Trade Initiative looking at how a farmer association can be a certificate holder of the UTZ Certification code of conduct.

The project started with 300 farmers in 10 communities in Ahafo Ano North and South districts. Currently, it has a total membership of 5,002 in 155 communities in Ashanti and Brong Ahafo regions.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh

Timber firms asked to turn to bamboo as future industry resource

A good number of timber companies in Ghana have collapsed over the past two decades, mostly due to challenges in accessing timber for processing.

The bane of the wood industry is the dwindling timber resources in the country’s forests.

Whilst interest groups are looking at developing plantations to make up for the shortfall, timber firms are being asked to retool by turning attention to bamboo as a future resource alternative.

The International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) has committed to provide capacity building and technology transfer for the Ghanaian bamboo industry.

“The moment there is utilization for bamboo, people will always be encouraged to go into bamboo plantation; if there is a factory that is going to buy bamboo to convert it to lumber, then the one who is going to plant it have a ready market”, he noted.

Tropical bamboos such as the species found in Ghana can be harvested after just three years, rather than the two to six decades needed to generate a timber forest.

There are calls for building contractors to patronize local building materials, including bamboos, to reduce the cost of building construction, whilst protecting the already stressed forests.

“The housing sector is having a negative effect on our forests because everybody is trying to put up a house and we are using wood materials. But we have proven that bamboo can equally be used for that”, observed Mr. Kwaku.

With Ghana’s currently bamboo stock estimated at 250-300 hectares, sustainable access to bamboo lumber for industrial purposes could be a challenge.

The INBAR is taking delivery of exotic bamboo species for local plantation which could be attractive for industrial use.

Government, has over the years, expressed interest in bamboo plantation, with the establishment of the Bamboo and Rattan Development Programme (BARADEP) under the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.  

But significant impact has not been achieved on the grounds.

Mr. Kwaku is advocating the BARADEP unit be placed under the Forestry Commission to give the programme a stronger mandate and resources in bamboo plantation development.

The INBAR is also looking forward to working with the Savanna Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) and the Rural Enterprise Programme (REP) to increase interest in bamboo plantation in Northern Ghana and rural communities.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh

Newmont Ghana pays over Gh₵9.3m to development foundation

The Newmont Ahafo Development Foundation (NADeF) has received over Gh₵9.3million from Newmont Ghana Gold Limited (NGGL) as the company’s 2012 contribution to the Foundation.

The mining giant has contributed a total Gh₵28.9million ($17million) to NADeF since its establishment in 2008 – Newmont contributes $1.00 per ounce of gold produced and one per cent of its annual net profit to the Foundation.

“The fulfilment of this promise shows Newmont’s commitment to supporting sustainable community development among the host communities”, said Paul Sowley, the General Manager of Environment and Social Responsibility of Newmont Ahafo Mine.

The support targets ten communities in the Asutifi North and Tano North Districts.

The NADeF has six main thematic areas of development, including Human Resources Development, Economic Empowerment, Infrastructural Development and Social Amenities. Others are Cultural Heritage and Sports, and Protection of Natural Resources.

The Foundation has completed and handed over about 43 infrastructural and social amenities including community libraries, teachers’ and nurses’ quarters, ICT centres and schools. 

Members of the communities have also benefited from scholarship and apprenticeship programmes, accessed micro credit and support for business start-up.

Board Chairman of NADeF, Kwame Saarah-Mensah, has expressed appreciation to Newmont in fulfilling its commitment to development in the Ahafo communities.

“Ahafo especially the communities under NADeF can attest to the positive development as a result of the establishment of the Foundation by Newmont and the Ahafo Community,” he said.

A component Fund is invested as an endowment to help continue development projects after life of the mine.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh

COCOBOD tasked to take lead role in certifying Ghana cocoa

The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has been challenged to position itself in a lead role in the production of certified and traceable cocoa.

As the global chocolate and cocoa industry rapidly moves towards certified and sustainable cocoa marketing, Ghanaian licensed buying companies are increasingly falling in line.

However most of the certification programmes are driven by international Fair trade organizations like UTZ and Rainforest Alliance.

Cocoa Merchants Limited, for instance, is hoping to produce certified cocoa from November this year.

Managing Director, Nana Amo Adade Boamah, believes the interest of the local cocoa industry would be better served when the COCOBOD begins to establish Ghanaian standards in the cocoa trade.

“We should begin to have Ghana standards where all the people who buy Ghana cocoa would know and submit themselves to it… otherwise the industry will be driven by external factors and forces to the detriment of us”, suggested Nana Boamah.

Cocoa certification and traceability require that farmers’ social, environmental and economic activities are in line with legitimate and best labour practices, in exchange for a premium price on the produce.

Nana Boamah says making governance as part of routine activities on cocoa farms will help improve performance and expenditure of farmers.

“One of the tenets of this sustainable production is to empower the farmer in best agronomic practices, teaches them to avoid child labour and how to protect the environment”, he said.

He also says fertilizer importing companies must be mandated to build warehouses at regional depots in order to get farm inputs close to cocoa producing districts.

Cocoa Merchants Company achieved almost five percent market share in cocoa purchase in the last crop season.

The company has rewarded best performing farmers at a ceremony in Kumasi. Close to 100 cocoa farmers received tricycles, bicycles, LED television sets, refrigerators and computers.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh

Industrial Union paints bleak economic future for Ghana

Ghana’s Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU) is worried the myriad of challenges confronting the country’s industrial sector could “spell doom for the economy” if not urgently tackled.

“The problems bedeviling the private sector now are enormous and reveal gloomy picture,” said a statement signed by Solomon Kotei, General Secretary of the Union.

According to him, employers have complained bitterly about threats to their survival – with some of them showing the tendency to close down their businesses and others notifying the Union of imminent laying-offs.

“We have found ourselves in an unfortunate situation where in order to keep businesses from shutting down, we have had to suspend salary negotiations and the review of other conditions of services of employees who are our members”, he said.

Mr. Kotei noted the ICU is struggling to appreciate the threat from employers to embark on redundancy exercise to trim down their workforce as a first measure to salvage the situation. 

Notification for layoffs range from three to seventy workers, he stated. 

He observed that Ghanaian industries are finding it difficult to attempt any legitimate increases in prices of their products because of the battle with very cheap and substandard imports.

“It is sad to know that we have opened our borders and ports too wide for undeserving foreign goods such that all kinds of things are being imported into the country.  We seem to have over liberalized the Ghanaian economy.  There is the need to re-examine our national policies with another lens before we are overtaken by events,” stated Mr. Kotei. 

 

He added that resorting to foreign consultants on programmes and projects, even in the face of qualified Ghanaian technocrats are not helpful for growing the economy.

The ICU has suggested to the government, policy makers, and managers of the economy to take practical steps to ensure growth in small-scale industry whilst special attention is paid to the major companies as they struggle to survive.

“The time is ripe for us to talk and think through this looming danger and initiate the appropriate measures needed to avert any dire consequences”, said the statement.

ICU is the largest industrial labour union in Ghana, organizing over 75,000 employees in various occupations across the sectors of the economy, including those in the informal sector.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh

Ghanaian cocoa farmers exposed to climate-smart production

Cocoa farmers in selected production districts in Ghana are accessing support in natural resource management for efficient and sustainable cocoa production.

The ‘Cocoa Eco Project’ is a pilot intervention aimed at limiting the encroachment of cocoa plantations onto forest lands and conservation of biodiversity.

SNV Ghana is partnering the Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union to create environmental awareness among cocoa farmers, especially on issues of land degradation and deforestation.

“We are expecting that at the end of the project cycle, we would be able to partner other organizations to scale-up to cover other districts in promoting increased productivity by way of adapting modern production methods in the cocoa sector”, says Ernest Adzim, Associate Advisor at SNV Ghana.

The 30-month project, covering ten cocoa growing districts, is to increase income levels and improve livelihood of targeted farmers.

Cocoa farming is one of the dominant land use activities in Ghana with an estimated cultivation area of over 1.6 million hectares, according to the World Bank. 

Cocoa production has been identified as one of the sectors that will seriously be hit by climate change.

Ghana is the second largest producer of cocoa in the world, but productivity is among the lowest in the world – average yield is 330kg per hectare, compared to Ivory Coast’s 580kg.

Increasing production demands expansion of area under cultivation, with the resultant effect of converting forests to farming systems which leads to decline in carbon stocks.

Isaac Boah, an Internal Control Officer with Kuapa Kokoo Limited, acknowledges the importance of planting cocoa with trees, “in order to prevent direct sunlight from going down to the soil”.

The Cocoa Eco Project will expose the farmers to interventions in climate mitigation and adaptation to ensure sustainable cocoa production.

“The effect of climate change is real”, stated Mr. Adzim. “You talk to the farmers from the north to the middle-belt to the south, they see this effect in terms of disease incidence, in terms of rainfall pattern, in terms of pest and planting times”.

Agronomic activities to be introduced under the intervention, according to him, include “soil fertility improvement by way of introducing shade into cocoa plantations and also generating income by planting trees”.  The trees will serve two purposes – provide source of energy by way of fuel wood as well as introducing nitrogen and other nutrients that cocoa may need in the soil.

An estimated 800,000 farm household depends on the cocoa sector for the primary livelihood.

 

Climate scientists at the Colombia-based International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) have predicted that the expected increasing temperatures will lead to massive declines in cocoa production in Ghana and other cocoa-growing areas in West Africa by 2030.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh