Fireworks@GIA

… As CEO battles pilots, accountants over media exposure
Posted: The Chronicle | Wednesday, December 02, 2009

By Charles Takyi-Boadu

A staff durbar organised by the management of Ghana International Airlines to discuss the wayforward for the company, nearly turned into a boxing arena, when the Chief Executive, Madam Gifty Anna-Myers, and the Accountant, Mr. John Oduro, clashed over some disagreements in the operations of the company.
The meeting ended abruptly, after Madam Anna-Myers refused to allow the Accountant continue his submissions on how over $1 million had been made to go waste under her watch, and the celebration of the GIA@4.

The two were restrained by staff to prevent an escalation of their debate, since the issue could have degenerated into fisticuffs.

According to sources at the meeting held last week Wednesday, it began when the CEO opened the meeting with a fierce attack on some of the pilots and engineers, who she claimed were behind a media war against her.

She went ballistic, and at various times described them in unprintable words.

She further noted that some operational staff were peeved following her refusal to let them go abroad to inspect, what she described, as ghost (non-existent) aircraft on offer by Spinoza, one of the companies interested in investing in the GIA.

She described the airline’s pilots as “self-seekers who want the company’s resources used on their training, after which they would do the runner, while the rest of the staff go hungry.”

During question time, the Senior Accountant expressed regret that the CEO was using such a forum to denigrate members of staff who disagreed with her handling of the affairs of the company.

To him, the CEO could have called on those she suspects were behind the ‘war’, and talk to them in private.

The Accountant accused Madam Anna-Myers of allowing $400,000 to go to waste on the training of pilots, which was aborted by her at the last minute, when it was almost completed.

According to the Accountant, there was information that the pilots could not continue with the training after $400,000 had already been spent on them.

Additionally, Mr. Oduro noted that about $600,000 had been spent on the salaries of pilots recruited under her watch, who had remained dormant close to two years, as the airline did not have its own aircraft, since the leased aircraft, Astraeus, came with its own crew.

“The pilots are redundant; some of them even don’t come to the office; they come here at the end of the month to pick their salaries,” the Accountant reiterated.

He also protested the setting aside of $9,700 to celebrate the four year anniversary of the airline.

Oduro argued that there was nothing to celebrate, since the company had consistently made average losses of ¢1.2 million throughout the four years.

The sources said at this juncture, the CEO would not allow the Accountant to continue his submission, a position which led to exchanges between the two.

The Accountant urged the house to disregard the issues raised by the CEO, since it was abusive, self-serving, personally-driven, and principally aimed at settling personal scores with some individuals.

When The Chronicle contacted Mr. Oduro on the allegations, he refused to comment.

“My brother this is an internal matter, so leave me out. I don’t want to comment about it,” he stressed.

Madam Anna-Myers confirmed to The Chronicle about holding a staff durbar, adding that if the pilots did not stop the attacks against her, she would be compelled to expose them in public.

She alluded that the pilots were employed by her predecessors, as a result, she could not be blamed for their redundancy.

She said there had been an occasion where pilots had gone to inspect aircraft, which turned out that they did not exist, hence she declined to grant the pilots permission to inspect the aircraft Spinoza claimed they had acquired for the GIA.

She maintained that the aircraft would be bought if the government was ready to release the necessary amount for the purchase and maintenance. In a related development, the GNA reports that Mr. Kosi Foli, immediate past Secretary General of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA), says African Airlines need to form progressive alliances, in order to ensure their successful operations on the continent.

To build a successful aviation industry, “Africa needs a Pan-African solution,” he stressed.

Mr. Foli was speaking to journalists at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) in Accra, after joining a South African Airways team to assess Ghana’s prospects of developing into an aviation hub within the sub-region.

He observed that Africa held great potential for growth in the aviation sector, adding that this potential was open for exploration by airlines operating within the continent.

Mr. Foli noted that for airlines to be successful in their operations, the government had to stay out of their operations.

The immediate past AFRAA Secretary General said there was the need for airlines to be responsible for the success of their operations, adding that such responsibility would ensure better accountability, which would in the long run, lead to efficiency in the airline industry in Africa.

Mr. Foli said his team was determined to help revamp Ghana International Airline and brighten its prospects.

He said the airline had great potential for growth, adding that with the right strategies and initiatives, it could become one of the most efficient carriers within the sub-region.

Mr. Jason Krause, Head of Business Development, South African Airways (SA), said his outfit was embarking on the assessment project in countries where it had experienced very successful operations.

He said Ghana was one of such places, prompting the airline to embark upon the initiative.

Mrs. Doreen Owusu Fianko, Managing Director of the Ghana Airports Company Limited, said the aviation sector was a catalyst for national development.

She noted that South Africa wields great potential for foreign direct investment in Ghana throughout the aviation sector.

“The demands we are having are such that we may have to re-vamp the airports in the other regions of the country. KIA alone might not be enough.”

Mrs. Fianko said at the right time, Ghana would collaborate with SA, to build a vibrant and strong aviation industry in the country.

Local Manufacturers Go Wild

...Ask gov't to stop Chinese or...
Posted: The Chronicle | Tuesday, December 1, 2009

By Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh and Charles Takyi-Boadu

Members of the Textile, Garment and Leather Employees' Union of Ghana Federation of Labour are not the least happy about Chinese invasion of the industry. They have, therefore, asked government to as a matter of urgency stop the Chinese from their nefarious activities before they cripple the local textile industry.

To this end, they have appealed to government to set up a taskforce, comprising representatives of the security agencies, Ghana Standard Board, the local manufacturers and the Trades Union to conduct periodic checks at the point of sales of smuggled products, with the view to arresting culprits and confiscating goods smuggled into the country.

Speaking to journalists at a press conference on the upsurge in smuggling of African Textile Prints and Pirating of Designs, the General Secretary of the Textile, Garment and Leather Employees' Union of Ghana Federation of Labour, Mr. Abraham Koomson, observed that the escalating illegal activities of some traders and their Chinese counterparts had aggravated the woes of the textile industry in the country, the employees and the Ghanaian economy.

He stressed that "The workers in the industry live in constant fears of losing their jobs because of the illegal activities of people in the textile trade" Indeed, the fears of workers are genuine because the sector which used to employ about 25,000 workers in the 1970s, has only 3000 workers made up of casual and permanent staff. While the state losses over GH¢40million as revenue annually.

Mr. Koomson, flanked by Mr. Moses Zizer, told the journalists that apart from smuggling fake textile products into the country, the Chinese traders and their partners in crime were also engaged in copying of brand design and brand names, names of local companies, among others.

He therefore appealed to the media to help them expose and deal severely with these economic saboteurs and nation wreckers. On wide disparity in product pricing between China and Ghana, Mr. Koomson mentioned, included low cost of raw material, low interest rates, highly subsidized electricity by the Chinese Government, and evasion of appropriate taxes by the Chinese traders as the major advantages enjoyed by the Chinese traders.

However, he indicated that local textile manufacturing companies faced challenges included high cost of raw material, high energy cost, high interest rates, no export subsidy and high cost of electricity in the country.

Instructively, in 2005, the government took steps to address the issues and accordingly directed as follows: "Imported African prints, real super wax, block prints, super real wax imitation wax, java and fancy prints-were being regarded as "high risk goods" and should be subjected to 100% physical examination jointly to be conducted by CEPS and the Ghana Standards Board (GSB) at the entry points".

The directive further stressed that "the new measures formed part of the guidelines to control the numerous unfair trading practices as evasion of import duties and other taxes, under invoicing, poor quality prints, pirating of patents and trade marks". These good measures are yet to be enforced to save the country of heavy revenue losses, collapse of industries and loss of jobs.

After being accused of corruption

GIS, CEPS to Sack Corrupt Officers
Posted: The Chronicle | Tuesday, December 1, 2009

By Charles Takyi-Boadu

The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) and the Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) have vowed to weed out the supposed 'few' bad nuts among them from the Services. This was after a data gathered by the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) indicted the two security agencies together with the Ghana Police Service (GPS) of massive corruption.

The data report which was gathered between the periods of September and October 2009 by three separate teams revealed serious delays and widespread corruption along the Tema-Ouagadougou trade corridor.

In a swift response to the research findings, the Head of Communications of the Ghana Immigration Service, DSI Francis Palmdeti said the GIS was prepared to dismiss any individual or group of persons who are proven to have compromised their conscience for money.

He has, therefore, encouraged those who fall victim to some of these corrupt practices to report the officers involved for prompt action, since they were not prepared to sacrifice the name and reputation of the service for anything.

On his part, Assistant Collector Phillip Amoh of the Public Relations Department of the CEPS gave the Service's commitment to institute punitive measures against officers who indulge in corrupt practices to serve as a deterrent to others who may be harbouring the intention to take bribes.

Speaking at the report launched in Accra yesterday, Director of Programmes at the LRC, Ms. Daphne Lariba Nabila talked of serious delays and widespread corruption along the trade route where drivers were stopped not less than 24 times, which averages to 2.3 times per 100km.

She noted that CEPS agents have set up the most checkpoints with an average of 9.5 stops per trip while the GPS averaged 6.5 stops per trip. In Ghana, the report indicates that drivers paid from GH ¢2.00 to GH ¢3.00 in bribes per stop, with CEPS officers accepting no less than GH ¢3.00.

The report further has it that on any given day, the number of trucks plying the route can reach 120, thereby making the total amounts of bribes collected estimated to reach GH ¢12,000 per day, GH ¢84,000 per week, GH ¢360,000 per month and GH ¢4,380,000 per year.

In addition, the report further noted that each of these stop causes delay, particularly when drivers try to bargain, indicating "on every journey, drivers were delayed from 5 to 20minutes per stop. On an average journey, it is said that a driver will be delayed a total of 5hours which averages to 29minutes per 100km. At the Ghanaian border for instance, the report indicates that GIS officer collected a minimum of GH ¢5.00 bribes per person and often asked for more.

In order instances, a traveler with all documents crossing the Ghana border to Burkina Faso was said to have been asked to pay GH ¢20.00 and when he offered to pay only GH ¢15.00, he was detained in custody for not less than 45minutes whilst those who were unable to pay were not allowed to cross the border.

The report further reveals that foreign nationals travelling in Ghana are stopped more frequently, and pay higher bribes than their Ghanaian counterparts, stating "Burkinabe businessmen travelling from Kumasi to Paga endured 19 stops by Police and CEPS, and paid a total of GH ¢48.00 in bribes per person. It was thus noted that it took them 12hours to complete their trip. Ghanaians on the other hand were said to have endured 10hours with 15 stops and a total of GH ¢35.00 in bribes per person.

Ms Nabila thus believes that these practices are a direct violation of obligations under the ECOWAS treaty to "grant full and unrestricted freedom of transit through its territory for goods proceeding to or from a third country and such transit shall not be subject to any discrimination, quantitative restrictions, duties or other charges."

Meanwhile, information available indicates that there are more stops in Ghana than in Burkina Faso and for that matter, drivers are unlawfully charged a total of 20,000 CFA to enter Burkina Faso and 12,000 CFA to exit.

Once inside Burkina Faso it is said that there are no less than 3 stop s before Ouagadougou whilst travelers pay 50 CFA at a toll booth.

However, a report released by the Improved Road Transport Governance (IRTG) initiative on interstate trade corridors for the second quarter of 2009 has it that the number of checkpoints have increased by 6% whilst the value of bribes collected have increased by 24% and the delays caused by checkpoints increased by 11%.

But Ms. Nabila attributes some of these worsening trends to the introduction of axle-load weight restrictions. This, according to her, was because "agents at axle-load weighbridge stations will fine drivers for being overloaded but do not provide a receipt to legitimize the transaction", stressing "in Ghana, agents operating toll booths and weighbridges collected the most bribes, followed by Customs agents, then Police officers and finally Immigration officers."

As a result of the widespread practice of corruption along the Tema-Ouagadougot route, the LRC says "drivers and traders are growing to accept bribery and long delays as the order of the day", emphasizing "some drivers set bribe money aside for Police, Customs and Immigration officers along the route."

According to the Centre, such additional costs are one of the reasons why transportation in West Africa has become the most inefficient and most expensive in the world, stressing "inevitably, these higher costs of transport are added to the price of goods and are passed on to consumers in Ghana and neighbouring countries."