… Whistleblower demands answers
Posted: The Chronicle | Friday, February 19, 2010
By Charles Takyi - Boadu
An aviation expert, Duke Odiasempa, who has petitioned the Minister of Transport, Mike Hammah, to take a second look at the liquidation of the defunct Ghana Airways (Ghanair), is not surprised about the continuous silence of transaction advisers, PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC), on the deal.
From the onset, the Aviation expert says PriceWaterhouseCoopers had created the impression that its report was waterproof, and gave orders as to how it should be appropriated, stressing that it was ludicrous for PWC to direct that the report should only be used by the official liquidator; the Registrar General.
In its report, the PWC directed that the document should not be used by any other person or institution without its written instruction, and further stated that the report should not be distributed, discussed, or be disclosed, with any third party.
The PWC further stated in their report that they accept no duty, obligation, liability or responsibility for any party, than the official liquidator, concerning their work, a condition, Mr Odiasempa, describes as unfortunate, since “the disclaimer was an insult to the (country’s) Constitution, and a slap in the face of Ghanaians.”
For this reason, he stressed the urgent need for the sector Minister to summon the authors of the report to a meeting, to clarify certain technicalities of their work.
According to him, the claim by the PWC to the effect that they assisted the official liquidation to accomplish key liquidator objectives in the area of realisation in the administration was nothing but a hoax, meant to throw dust into the eyes of Ghanaians.
Mr. Odiasempa raises doubts about the credibility of the PWC claim to have run a competitive bidding process in the liquidation of the airline, stressing that he was not the least convinced that the company did a good job, as far as that area was concerned.
This, according to him, was evident in the fact that the liquidation of Ghana Airways did expand into choice areas in the UK, such as Kingston-upon Thames, Heathrow Airport area, and other areas where the airline had movable assets.
He wondered why the PWC did not find any suitable value in Ghana, but went against what he described as their own Beaumont and Sons of the UK criteria for lawful liquidation, to form the basis upon which bids were to be evaluated.
According to him, it was earlier argued that Thameside, which offered to pay for the aircraft at US $820,000, was not the highest bidder, but for the different clauses put in the sales agreement, particularly that of CSDS Aviation, which bid further than US$900,000, stressing that the Official Liquidator’s letter of 2007, was disobeyed by the Ghana Airways Assets Disposal Committee.
After having the opportunity to study the said letter, Mr. Odiasempa said he was convinced that the government of the day, deliberately allowed the aircraft 9G-ANB to lie at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) to accrue landing and parking fees for no justifiable reason, saying “this is a financial loss by any definition.”
He emphasised that Ghana Airways also sold two of its F28 Mark 2000 without any debacle, and therefore wondered how come the 9G-ANB aircraft had to remain at the airport to accumulate more debt.
He stressed the need for people to be made to answer for this dereliction of duty.
The aviation expert also raises questions about how the PWC realised only US$20 million from the sale of 43 properties of Ghana Airways, and with an annual turnover of between US$90 million and US$100 million, Mr Duke Odiasempa wonders what exactly might have informed the decision to liquidate the airline because of a US$150 million debt.
Mr. Odiasempa, who has had the privilege of studying and reviewing a report submitted to the Ministry of Transport, by accounting and auditing giants PriceWaterhouseCoopers about the sale of the then Ghana Airways, has raised questions about the credibility of the sale. According to him, the airline only needed a payable loan of US$2 million to survive, but the government of the day declined to give the money to lease two B767-300ER aircraft from Aviation Spares, and therefore wondered what informed that decision.
Mr. Odiasempa indicated that Ghana Airways indeed had a preference to lease an aircraft, since according to him, engineers of the airline, and other foreign engineers, had inspected a B767-300ER aircraft at Zaventum in Belgium, and Shannon in Ireland, in the year 2003. Though various reports were filed and submitted to the then Chief Executive, by the company’s creditor, Aviation Spares International, at an affordable price of US$2,600 a block hour, he wondered why Ghana Airways failed to lease the aircraft, stressing, “The Minister of Transport and his deputy, at various times, had certain preferences, and importuned Ghana Airways to accept Nationwide Airlines of South Africa’s fuel guzzling B747-200 Combi aircraft into service.”
The Deputy Minister of Transport at the time was said to have invited the management of Ghana Airways to his office, and asked why it was obstinate in not selecting K&G Corporation to supply the airline with two B767-300ERs.
This was said to have compelled the then Chief Executive to confront the Deputy Minister somewhere in the year 2003, to ask him “if I am taken to Nsawam Prison in future, would you come and visit me and feed my family?”
The CEO was said to have been compelled by circumstances, at the time, to resign shortly, since he could not bear the extent of ministerial and government interference in the activities and operations of the airline.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
NGO pushes for ban on packaged water
… Encourages Ghanaians to go back to the taps
Posted: The Chronicle |Thursday, February 18, 2010
By Charles Takyi - Boadu
The Ghana Coalition of Non-Governmental Organisations in the Water and Sanitation Sector (CONIWAS) is advocating for a total ban on thin plastics used in the production of packaged water in the country.
It believes the production and consumption pattern of sachet water is not sustainable, since environmental pollution of thin plastics, and the associated economic costs to the nation, far outweighed the employment benefits it creates for those who engage in it.
It has therefore welcomed the government decision to place a 20% ad valerom tax on the product, since according to the group, abandoning tap water altogether, as a result of what it describes as marketing gimmicks and perceived poor quality, and resorting to packaged water as a main source of drinking water, constitutes development in the wrong direction.
Speaking at a news conference in Accra yesterday, Vice Chair of CONIWAS and Director of Public Policy Women and Development GrassRoots Africa, Hawa Nibi Amenga-Etego, stressed the urgent need for Ghanaians to shun packaged water, and to revert to the use of taps, since “the infiltration of bottled and sachet water into our market has become the biggest threat to the realisation of the right to water in Ghana.”
She argued that the decision had successfully diverted people’s attention away from more affordable sources, to more expensive and unsustainable bottled and sachet water, which costs 500 times (in the case of sachet water) and 1,600 times (in the case of bottled water) higher than other improved sources of water such as the taps, with little or no more improvement in the quality.
Meanwhile, General Comment 15 (GC15) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) sets out the tripartite responsibility of states to respect, protect, and fulfill the right to water.
It further states that a state (nation) protects the right by preventing third parties (including private companies) from interfering with the enjoyment of the right, including the imposition of appropriate regulatory measures (including taxes) on such parties.
However, the majority of Ghanaians still heavily rely on tap water, and other improved sources beside the bottled and sachet ones, as their sole source of drinking water.
Information gathered from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) indicates that only 8.2% of Ghanaians drink bottled and sachet water as a source of drinking water alongside other improved sources, with the urban being 15.2%, whilst the rural constitutes only 1.8%.
CONIWAS noted that the poor would constitute a small fraction of this percentage, hence the production of sachet and bottled water constitutes commodification of water and interference in the right of the people to water, which is a fundamental human right, insisting that “a service as essential as water, cannot be subject to market focus.”
Consequently, the group, in collaboration with the Foundation for Grassroots Initiatives in Africa (GrassRoots Africa), has urged Ghanaians to bring pressure to bear on the government, and demand sufficient water of acceptable quality through taps, as the only way to guarantee the enjoyment of the right to water by all.
It is also advocating for the government to focus the 20% ad valerom tax on water, rather than the packaging material, and asked for proceeds from the tax to be channeled to the relevant authorities to improve water supply.
CONIWAS is also pushing for a separate tax for plastics to be considered more broadly, beyond packaging material or bottled and sachet water, whilst calling on the government to appropriate 25% of the talk tax, and 5% of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) levy, to finance Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Services (WASH), considering that these services are pivotal to the development of all other sectors of the economy.
Just like the rural water levy of 2% on all utility bills, which goes to support investment in the rural subsector, the group is also asking the government to consider an additional charge of 1%, dedicated to the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), solely for infrastructure investment, instead of depending entirely on donors for this.
Posted: The Chronicle |Thursday, February 18, 2010
By Charles Takyi - Boadu
The Ghana Coalition of Non-Governmental Organisations in the Water and Sanitation Sector (CONIWAS) is advocating for a total ban on thin plastics used in the production of packaged water in the country.
It believes the production and consumption pattern of sachet water is not sustainable, since environmental pollution of thin plastics, and the associated economic costs to the nation, far outweighed the employment benefits it creates for those who engage in it.
It has therefore welcomed the government decision to place a 20% ad valerom tax on the product, since according to the group, abandoning tap water altogether, as a result of what it describes as marketing gimmicks and perceived poor quality, and resorting to packaged water as a main source of drinking water, constitutes development in the wrong direction.
Speaking at a news conference in Accra yesterday, Vice Chair of CONIWAS and Director of Public Policy Women and Development GrassRoots Africa, Hawa Nibi Amenga-Etego, stressed the urgent need for Ghanaians to shun packaged water, and to revert to the use of taps, since “the infiltration of bottled and sachet water into our market has become the biggest threat to the realisation of the right to water in Ghana.”
She argued that the decision had successfully diverted people’s attention away from more affordable sources, to more expensive and unsustainable bottled and sachet water, which costs 500 times (in the case of sachet water) and 1,600 times (in the case of bottled water) higher than other improved sources of water such as the taps, with little or no more improvement in the quality.
Meanwhile, General Comment 15 (GC15) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) sets out the tripartite responsibility of states to respect, protect, and fulfill the right to water.
It further states that a state (nation) protects the right by preventing third parties (including private companies) from interfering with the enjoyment of the right, including the imposition of appropriate regulatory measures (including taxes) on such parties.
However, the majority of Ghanaians still heavily rely on tap water, and other improved sources beside the bottled and sachet ones, as their sole source of drinking water.
Information gathered from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) indicates that only 8.2% of Ghanaians drink bottled and sachet water as a source of drinking water alongside other improved sources, with the urban being 15.2%, whilst the rural constitutes only 1.8%.
CONIWAS noted that the poor would constitute a small fraction of this percentage, hence the production of sachet and bottled water constitutes commodification of water and interference in the right of the people to water, which is a fundamental human right, insisting that “a service as essential as water, cannot be subject to market focus.”
Consequently, the group, in collaboration with the Foundation for Grassroots Initiatives in Africa (GrassRoots Africa), has urged Ghanaians to bring pressure to bear on the government, and demand sufficient water of acceptable quality through taps, as the only way to guarantee the enjoyment of the right to water by all.
It is also advocating for the government to focus the 20% ad valerom tax on water, rather than the packaging material, and asked for proceeds from the tax to be channeled to the relevant authorities to improve water supply.
CONIWAS is also pushing for a separate tax for plastics to be considered more broadly, beyond packaging material or bottled and sachet water, whilst calling on the government to appropriate 25% of the talk tax, and 5% of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) levy, to finance Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Services (WASH), considering that these services are pivotal to the development of all other sectors of the economy.
Just like the rural water levy of 2% on all utility bills, which goes to support investment in the rural subsector, the group is also asking the government to consider an additional charge of 1%, dedicated to the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), solely for infrastructure investment, instead of depending entirely on donors for this.
Private sector gets facelift
…as BUSAC gets a plus …as BUSAC gets a plus
Posted: The Chronicle |Thursday, February 18, 2010
By Charles Takyi - Boadu
Ms. Hannah Tetteh, Minister of Trade & Industry
Industry players are gradually gaining confidence in some private sector initiatives, and their ability to partner the public sector in the development of the nation.
Typical is the case of the Director of the Local Government Training Institute (LGTI), Dr. Esther Ofei-Aboagye, who is overwhelmed at the contribution of the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge Fund (BUSAC-fund) to the development of the nation, since it became operational five years ago.
“Overall, the work of the BUSAC-fund has provided several initiatives and beginnings that could lead to real change in public sector responsiveness to private sector enablement,” was how she put it.
Beyond collaboration in investments, she said the BUSAC-fund’s interventions has fostered partnerships between the public sector and private sector groupings, by helping to break down walls of suspicion, and fostering cooperation and familiarisation.
Speaking at a BUSAC end-of-project event in Accra, Dr. Ofei-Aboagye stressed on the belief that public sector agencies’ suspicion of civil society groups and business associations and economic groupings, had reduced enough to respond to such invitations, and through the collaboration, gaining key contact points within the business community to work with.
That notwithstanding, she stated that considerable interest had been built amongst business associations to be pro-active in demanding engagement with public sector agencies.
She commended the management team of the project, and all stakeholders who helped in making the difference.
On her part, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Dr. Joyce Aryee, emphasised how useful the Fund has been to the Chamber.
This, according to her, was evident in the fact that the BUSAC-fund had enhanced the Chamber’s advocacy capacity.
Furthermore, she noted, it had also been able to make impacts on the activities of regulatory bodies, including the Minerals Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and other civil society organisations.
BUSAC aims to make an impact by enabling the private sector, including business membership organisations, trades unions and media, to influence public policy formulation by undertaking appropriate research, developing evidence based policy positions, and advocating those positions with the government and other private sector institutions/organisations, which may be targeted by the action.
It was originally launched by DANIDA, as part of the broader Business Sector Programme Support, but now attracts support from the DFID (which is pooling its support through an arrangement with DANIDA) and the USAID (which is willing to support export related advocacy projects).
The arrangement to involve DFID and USAID is covered under a Memorandum of Understanding, agreed and signed in March 2005.
The fund management has been contracted by DANIDA to COWI, which has appointed Dr. Dale Rachmeler as Project Manager. He is assisted by a team recruited locally.
The Fund is accessible through a competitive demand-driven mechanism, and transparent selection of the best advocacy actions proposed by associations within the Private Sector.
The BUSAC-fund finances, through grants, up to 90% of the cost of the Advocacy Actions that are selected in each “Call for Application.”
The Actions are then implemented by the Grantees themselves, with the help of the Service Providers they may have chosen to complement theirs.
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