ISSER warns over rising debt

ISSER warns over rising debt

By Bernard Yaw ASHIADEY

The Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), has indicated that the rate at which the country is accruing debt could be a threat to the economy.

“We need to cut down on our borrowing or risk leaving behind an unthinkable amount of debt for the young ones of today to pay tomorrow,” said Dr. Robert Osei, Senior Research Fellow and Head, Economics Division, ISSER.

“Even though the economy is growing at a very fast rate (14.4%), the amount of debt we owe to both local and foreign institutions and other countries can lead us back to HIPC status,” he said.

He made these remarks at the launch of the State of the Ghanaian Economy Report (SGER 2010) and Mid-Year Economy Report, 2011, in Accra.

At the end of July 2011, the stock of public debt stood at GHc 21.6bn, equivalent to 40.5% of GDP, up from 31.1% at the end of December 2010.

Meanwhile, additional non-concessary financing is being sourced to close the economy’s wide infrastructure gap. Last month, Parliament gave the state approval to borrow US$ 3bn from the China Development Bank to build critical oil and gas, and railway infrastructure.

Since then, concerns have emerged about the state’s appetite for borrowing which could threaten the sustainability of the public debt.

Dr. Osei said even though it could be healthy for the nation to take on debt, it will be prudent for policymakers to know how much to borrow in order to safeguard the security of the economy.

He cautioned policymakers to take a cue from what has happened to Greece, Portugal and currently Spain, Italy and the USA who are struggling to manage high fiscal deficits and debts.

In his presentation, Dr. Felix Asante, Senior Research Fellow, ISSER, stated that even though the economy has experienced tremendous growth over the last two and half decades, it is not reflected in the standard of living of the citizens.

“The development experience of the last two and half decades has shown consistent economic growth averaging 5.4% from 1984 to 2010. Although this growth rate has not been as high as planned, the consistency of it has led to a reduction of poverty over the period.

“Despite the fact that Ghana has been upgraded to a lower middle-income country after the rebasing, there has not been a significant improvement in the standard of living of Ghanaians.

“There is high unemployment, natural resources and environmental degradation and some macroeconomic imbalances, while the gradual shift from agriculture to services over the period does not represent a desired structural transformation.”

He said in order to solve the problem of excessive poverty and increase the standard of living of the people, social issues such as education, health, employment, and urbanisation need to be reviewed.

Education, especially at the basic level, must be made accessible to all children while a review of the entire structure of education must be nationally done so that this is not overturned when another political party comes into office, he advised.

“The health of a nation is an asset and must be planned together as a nation, not as an individual political party in power.”

Employment should be increased through expansion of the economy through modernisation of agriculture and enhancement of the manufacturing sector.

He observed that natural urbanisation cannot be stopped but a structured rural development plan can reduce the rural-urban drift. Village, town, urban and city planning should be undertaken so that urbanisation does not become a problem, he said.

“Science, technology and innovation are the future of the nation. Science and technology must be part of the way of life of Ghanaians. This must be popularised in schools through increased facilities and incentives.”

Samsung Ghana Launches celebrations

Samsung Ghana Launches celebrations

By Bernard Yaw ASHIADEY

Samsung Ghana on Wednesday launched its maiden week-long celebration to introduce its innovative and unique products to customers and strengthen partnerships with stakeholders.

It also introduced a 72-inch LED television set, the company’s biggest television set in the world, to demonstrate its commitment to providing consumers with state-of-the-art technologies.

As part of the launch, an exhibition has been mounted at the National Theatre in Accra to showcase a variety of its products including television sets, air conditioners, mobile phones, standing fans in addition to providing free services to consumers.

Mr Bravo Kim, Managing Director, Samsung Ghana, said the celebration that would be on the theme; “Beautiful Ghana through the Eyes of Samsung” reflected the nation’s rich and colourful culture and innovativeness.

It also mirrored the hardworking and dynamic attitude of the people as well as the beautiful sceneries, which must be portrayed to the world through arts and culture.

Mr Kim said innovative activities such as Facebook photo competition and Samsung Cultural Icon during the celebration were all targeted at developing the skills and talents of young Ghanaian consumers.

“We hope not to only award winners for these competitions but also empower them to express their creativity and innovativeness through culture,” he said.

Mr Kim indicated that the company intended to replicate the programme in 10 different countries on the continent as part of its global goal to directly impact on the lives of five million Africans by 2015.

“This we hope to achieve through the delivery of cutting edge technological products and services which are exclusively built in Africa, for Africa and by Africa,” he added.

Mr Kim stressed that the company wanted to be present in Africa not through transactions only, but positively adding value to the lives of the people in communities where they operate and Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR).

He said although their products had been available on the Ghanaian market over the past decade, the absence of the company’s local office in the country made it difficult to directly reach consumers and provide them with products and services to meet their needs.

Mr Kim explained that the establishment of a liaison office registered as Samsung Electronics West Africa Limited (Samsung Ghana) would serve as the Sub-Regional branch in West Africa for Samsung to cater for seven countries including Senegal, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome, Gabon, Cameroun, Cote d’Ivoire, and Congo.

He said the company had a current hold of about 35 per cent of the share of the mobile market in Ghana.

Mr Kim said with more than 124 distributors and retailers under its network of operations country-wide, the company would be able to impact on the lives of Ghanaians by re-enforcing their key strengths, which included new technology, innovative products and creative solutions.

He affirmed the company’s commitment to partner government to accelerate the development of Information Communications Technology (ICT) and help bridge the ICT huge gap.

Mr Ernest Attuquaye Armah, Deputy Minister of Communications, in an address read on his behalf, commended the company for its role in ICT revolution.

He said government was challenged to ensure that the appropriate enabling policies coupled with efficient regulatory regimes were implemented and further strengthened to promote the application of new technologies to enhance growth.

Mr Armah said to achieve these objectives, Ghana through the Ministry was pursuing the Digital Terrestrial Television Network throughout the country and hoped to ensure a complete switch-off of the analogue to terrestrial television broadcasting by December 2014 in line with international standards.

He said the migration might create numerous challenges to Ghanaians as currently most television sets being used by consumers did not have digital turner built-in.

Mr Armah said users might either acquire integrated digital television sets (IDTV) or convert their existing analogue television sets using set-up boxes popularly called decoders.

He noted that the process would offer many advantages to the country including better sound and picture quality, create a new revenue stream for government, new jobs and competition for content developers.

Mr Armah said to enable the citizenry benefit from the process, the Ministry through the National Communication Authority would embark on a nation-wide publicity and communication campaign to educate the public on the switch-over to digital broadcasting to prevent panic buying.

He urged the company to partner other institutions like the Ministry of Communications, Environmental Protection Agency, Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology and Ministry of Health to combat the threat of e-waste in Ghana.

Ugodeal launches purchasing website

Ugodeal launches purchasing website

By Bernard Yaw ASHIADEY

An online shopping website, Ugodeal, which offers deals and discounts on the best local goods and services, has been launched in Accra with plans to operate soon in Kumasi, Cape Coast, Takoradi and Lagos.

“The deal is based on the principle of collective and group buying. This innovative approach has proven its efficiency worldwide and brought millions of dollars in revenue to local businesses, while saving tremendous amounts for subscribers worldwide,” said Yasmina Lahlou, Managing Director, Ugodeal

“The company negotiates unimaginable discounts with popular businesses such as restaurants, hotel services, shopping, photo shoots, pottery classes, spa treatments, personalised picture cakes, summer camp for kids, and public hangouts that are willing to give discounts on their goods and services to the public,” she said.

According to her, members buy the deals on the company’s website -- ugodeal -- by free registration, and may make payment by bank transfer, cash deposits, or credit cards.

A special voucher is sent by email, which the customer has to print and present to the specific merchant in order to be offered the service. The deals last for a limited period of time but are always renewable.

Ms Lahlou therefore entreated the public to join Ugodeal to enjoy great discounts on goods and services. She also called on corporate companies to join Ugodeal to enhance patronage of their services.

Vodafone '020 Live' concert for Sept 20

Vodafone ‘020 Live’ concert for Sept 20

By Dominick Andoh and Bernard Yaw ASHAIDEY

This year’s edition of “020 Live”, a musical concert organised by Vodafone Ghana, takes place on September 20 at the Accra International Conference Centre.

The second edition of the show will feature Nigerian showstopper D’banj, and other local artistes including VIP, D.Chryme, R 2 Bees, 5-5, Stay J and R&M (Vodafone Icons winner), and a surprise world renowned artiste yet to be announced.

Speaking at the launch of the event in Accra, Chief Marketing Officer, Vodafone Ghana, Uche Ofodile, said “music is the passion of Ghanaians, and part of what endears us to our customers is to tap into what they want, and that is music.”

Subscribers had been asked to text the names of the various artistes they will like to perform at this year’s event, which informed the organizers choice of performers fot the concert.

”This year’s concert will be bigger than last year’s because unlike last year, we were just celebrating our one-year anniversary, but this year we are introducing more features that have never being witnessed in concerts in Ghana,” she said.

“We are improving on the VIP package by giving them the best seats in the house and additional free foods and drinks. We will give them a VIP treat they have never received anywhere before. Everyone will have a feel of what they paid for including those who bought the regular seats for the concert.”

Cynthia Torto, Events and Sponsorship Manager, Vodafone Ghana, added that due to the intense passion Ghanaians have for music this show is to reward them for their loyalty to Vodafone.

“Vodafone is rewarding its customers for their loyalty and unflinching support to their brand and we see music as the best way possible to give back to them. This is because Ghanaians are very passionate about music. It is also to promote up and coming artistes like R&M

She revealed most of the invited artistes for the show will perform with a live band.

Vodafone customers who purchase GH¢10 worth of credit or port their numbers to Vodafone will be given a 30% discount on the ticket – both VIP and regular.

Tickets for the concert are selling for GH¢ 100 – VIP and GH¢ 50 – Regular.

EPL trophy in Ghana

EPL trophy in Ghana

By Bernard Yaw ASHIADEY

The English Premier League (EPL) trophy was in Ghana for two days as part of a three- nation tour of Africa that includes Nigeria and Kenya.

The 25-kilogram trophy, made of silver, gold and malachite and which stands at two feet five inches, was on display at the National Theatre for lovers of the Premier League.

The trophy tour is a partnership between Barclays Bank, DSTV Mobile, Multichoice and the EPL which aims at rewarding African fans for their passionate and loyal patronage of the EPL.

Kojo Addae-Mensah, Chief Operating Officer, Barclays Bank Ghana, at a press conference, said: “Barclays is very excited, because today Ghanaians would get the opportunity to experience the EPL trophy; a league that Ghanaians are very passionate about.

“Indeed, it is quite clear, even without scientific study, that when it comes to the support base for foreign leagues in Ghana, the Barclays Premier League has the largest following.”

The General Manager of Multichoice Ghana, Cecil Sunkwa Mills, also said the event is to offer Ghanaians the opportunity to continuously follow the progress of Ghanaian players in the EPL and other top-flight European leagues.

“Multichoice has put together an attractive package for its customers this season with reference to the top-five leagues in Europe based on UEFA coefficient -- the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, German Bundesliga, French Ligue Un and the Italian Serie A.”

“Ghanaians have the chance to track the vast pool of their talent spread across Europe. Influential midfield kingpins like Kwodwo Asamoah and Agyemang Badu’s Italian adventures will now be for all to see and young defending dynamo Jonathan Mensah’s rendezvous with newly promoted Evian is live on Supersports,” he said.

He also added that DStv Mobile subscribers have the opportunity to enjoy live matches on their compatible mobile phone handset; and also very soon, DStv mobile ‘drifta’ will allow subscribers to watch DStv on other devices like the ipad, iphone, ipod, laptops and a host of smart phones.

(From left to right) Gary Bailey, former Manchester United player, Samuel Osei Kuffour, former Black Stars defender, Cecil Sunkwa-Mills, General Manager, Multichoice Ghana, Kojo Addae Mensah, Chief Operating Officer, Barclays Bank Ghana and Edward Kwame Owusu, General Manager, DStv Mobile.