He stated that with the country’s track record in mining, it had become necessary to deepen the contribution of the sector by making it attractive for investments and business opportunities. Speaking at the just-ended 2019 Ghana mining and energy summit in Accra on June 12, Dr Amin Adam noted that “it has become necessary to deepen the contribution of mining and energy towards the growth of our economy and to accelerate the development of the country by repositioning the two sectors to drive investment and business opportunities. This is imperative because of recent reports about Ghana’s top position among gold producing countries.” The government, he explained, was pursuing progressive policies and programmes to transform the mineral resources to sustainable development outcomes for the people. Therefore, apart from gold production, government is aggressively harnessing the country’s bauxite and iron ore potential to build a value added industrial economy that creates jobs and incomes for the people.<br /><br /> <b> Energy: Key to industrialisation</b><br />Dr Amin Adam noted that energy played a critical role in the nation’s industrialisation drive and the country’s ability to create competitive industries depended largely on the pricing and availability of energy. “This is even more essential to an energy intensive sector such as the mining industry. Our desire to harness linkage opportunities and value addition to our minerals, that is gold, bauxite and aluminium, will be backed by an extensive approach that takes into consideration the need for reliable and cost competitive forms of power and fuel,” he said. <br /><b>Addressing challenges</b><br />The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Mr Sulemanu Koney, noted that Ghana’s ranking on global attractiveness league for mining investment had dwindled in the last couple of years. While that calls for a review of the policy regime governing the sector, he explained that the security situation at some of the mines had not helped and that had deteriorated sharply with the withdrawal of the troops. “In spite of these challenges, we are fortunate to have a listening Sector Minister who is willing to work with us to address these challenges. He deserves our commendation,” he said. He added that the summit focused on developments within the mining and energy sectors of the economy of the country. It also allowed for interrogation of the issues militating against the growth and development of those two anchors of the economy and more importantly how to harness the potential in the nexus between these two strategic sectors of the economy for socio – economic development. The Ghana Mining and Energy Summit (GMES) is a biennial Conference and Exhibition organised by the Ghana Chamber of Mines and it attracts industry participants across the globe. The 2019 summit, which is the fourth since the maiden event was held in 2013, was on the theme: “Harnessing mining and energy potential to accelerate national development.” The President of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Mr Eric Asubonteng, said the theme was aimed at deepening investment opportunities in the two sub sectors so as to strengthen Ghana’s position as Africa’s mineral and energy resource hub. “The Chamber is, therefore, pleased to bring together key players in the sectors in an effort to expose local and international entrepreneurs and investors to the mining and energy business in Ghana,” he noted.
Non-oil GDP, on the other hand, also grew by six per cent in the first quarter against a growth of four per cent for the same period in 2018. The industry sector recorded the highest growth of 8.4 per cent, followed by the services and agriculture sector, which grew by 7.2 per cent and 2.2 per cent respectively. Presenting the first quarter GDP at a media briefing in Accra, Government Statistician, Professor Samuel Kobina Anim, said the main drivers of the growth in GDP were the information and communication, health and social work, mining and quarrying and the electricity sub sectors. The information and communication sub sector increased from 16.3 per cent in quarter one of 2018 to 37 per cent in quarter one of 2019, while the health and social work sub sector slowed slightly to 22.1 per cent against 24.8 per cent for the same period last year. The mining and quarrying sub sector also slowed slightly to 20.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2019 from 24.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2018. Professor Kobina Anim also indicated that the negative contributors of the first quarter GDP growth came from the sub sectors of construction (-8.7 per cent), water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities (-6.4 per cent), forestry and logging (-5.8 per cent), and fishing (-1.5 per cent). <br /><b>Nominal GDP</b><br />He noted that the GDP estimate at current prices in purchasers’ value for the first quarter was GH¢84.72 billion, compared to GH¢72.99 billion in the first quarter of 2018, while the non-oil GDP estimate at current prices for first quarter of 2019 stood at GH¢81.95 million compared to GH¢71.32 million in the first quarter of 2018. <br /> <br />The GDP estimate at constant using 2013 prices for the first quarter of 2019 was GH¢40.49 billion, compared to GH¢37.97 billion for the same period in 2018. <br /><b>GDP shares</b><br />The services sector still remained the largest sector in the Ghanaian economy in the first quarter of 2019, with a share of 47.2 per cent of GDP at basic prices. The GDP share of industry and agriculture were 33.1 per cent and 19.7 per cent respectively. <br /><b>May inflation</b><br />The producer price inflation (PPI) for May 2019 also dipped from 7.1 per cent in April 2019 to 6.7 per cent., representing a decrease of 0.4 per cent. The rate which was contained in the PPI release, which was also released at the same media briefing, indicated that between May 2018 and May 2019, the PPI increased by 6.7 per cent. The mining and quarrying sub sector recorded the highest year-on-year PPI rate, followed by the manufacturing sub sector and the utilities sub sector. The PPI in the mining and quarrying sub sector increased from 12.3 per cent in April 2019 to 15.1 per cent in May 2019, representing an increase of 2.8 per cent, while manufacturing, which constitutes about two-thirds of total industry decreased by 1.3 per cent to record 6.2 per cent. The utilities sub sector also recorded inflation rate of 1.1 per cent, indicating an increase of 0.1 per cent over the rate recorded in April.
Two highly placed sources involved in the negotiation and setting of the tariffs confided in the Daily Graphic that while electricity tariffs would go up by between 10 and 12 per cent, those of water would be increased by less than 10 per cent. The increases would be across the board for both residential and commercial consumers throughout the country, according to one of the sources, who was not authorised to speak on the matter. “It will be less than 12 per cent for electricity for both residential and industrial users and less than 10 per cent for water across the country,” it said. <br /><b>Negotiation with PDS</b><br />While admitting that the announcement of new utility tariffs had delayed by about six months, the source said the tariffs that would be announced today would not take retrospective effect but become operational from July 1. “We are not going back because there was an understanding that the PURC has been working with Power Distribution Services (PDS) when it took over from the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) on April 1, this year, and all those have now been factored into the new tariffs,” it explained. The new tariffs will replace those that were announced and took effect in March 2018. <b><br />Reason for increases<br /></b>The source explained that but for the renegotiation of gas prices, which reduced the cost of gas used to generate power, and the relocation of the Karpowership from Tema in the Greater Accra Region to Atuabo in the Western Region, the tariff increment for electricity would have been higher than planned. “With the movement of the Karpowership from Tema to Atuabo, they will cut the fuel intake by almost 50 per cent and that is why they are able to make these savings and bring the tariffs down,” it said. The relocation of the power ship is scheduled to take place in August this year and it will make it possible for the power generation vessel to switch from the use of heavy fuel oil (HFO) to generate electricity to natural gas. <br /><b>Cause of delay</b><br />When asked why the PURC delayed in announcing the new tariffs, one of the sources said negotiations between the commission and the PDS stretched more than anticipated. “They wanted to finish the negotiations that they were doing and with that the only effect on the tariffs will now be foreign exchange and other operational costs,” it added. As of press time yesterday, it was understood that the Ministry of Energy was meeting utility providers in the power sector over the new tariffs due to be announced today. <br /><b>Gas prices<br /></b>In a proposal submitted to the PURC in November last year, the ECG, whose core mandate has now been transferred to PDS, requested for an average tariff increase of about 37 per cent to enable it to make up for the increasing cost of production. The Executive Director of the African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) said his outfit was reliably informed that electricity tariffs were originally planned to go up by 30 per cent but it was later reduced after successful renegotiations of power purchase agreements (PPAs) and the price of gas. He said the renegotiation saw gas prices dropping from around $8 per metric million British Thermal Unit (MMTBu) to about $6.8MMTBu. He also mentioned the proposed relocation of the Karpowership, which will allow for a switch in fuel consumed, as another major development that influenced the tariffs on electricity that the PURC would be announcing. The commission, which regulates the provision of utility services in the country, is mandated by the PURC Act (1997), Act 538, to set tariffs for water, electricity and the transportation of natural gas.
Speaking to the media on Friday as a precursor to the first Africa Data Protection and Privacy Conference to be held in Accra from June 26 to 27, Madam Adusei-Poku also urged all “Data Controllers” in the country to show compliance and accountability with the Data Protection Act. The act sets out the rules and principles governing the collection, use, disclosure and care for personal data or information by a data controller or processor. She said compliance with Data Protection Act applied to organisations in all sectors, both public and private and third sectors/NGOs, hence, the need to take it seriously. <br /><b>Privacy laws</b><br />The two-day conference which will be held in collaboration with Ecobank would mark an important milestone in the roadmap towards promoting the enactment of Data Protection and Privacy laws in Africa. The conference, which is expected to bring together established authorities in Africa and other parts of the world, would provide a critical platform for promoting Africa’s drive for Data Protection and Privacy laws in Africa. It would bring together international stakeholders, including; the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Rights to Privacy, the African Union, the East African Community, the European Union and UK Information Commissioner. Madam Adusei-Poku said countries across the Africa Region were enacting Data Protection and Privacy laws and establishing supervisory authorities in response to the increased use of technology, the pace of digitisation and the exponential growth of activity in the global cyberspace. Some of the topics to be discussed include; ethical approaches and processing for the global good, data protection and privacy and financial inclusion in Africa, data protection and cyber space. <br /><b>Personal data</b><br />The commission was established under the Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843), to protect the privacy of the individual and personal data by regulating the processing of personal information. The commission said it was committed to contributing effectively to the national transformation agenda by underpinning the efforts to safeguard and protect the rights of individuals through the enforcement of the requirements of the Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843). The Regional Head Corporate Communications and Marketing,Mrs Rita Aba Tsegah, speaking at the launch said: “As a Pan African Bank with interest in the development of the sub-region, Ecobank looks forward to more African nations passing the protection act and an adoption of the convention 108+ as the international standard.” <br /><b>Broadband Internet</b><br />She said with the propagation of broadband Internet access and increasingly easy access to phones, exposure to information had become more likely. Mrs Tsegah said unlike most developed countries where data-privacy laws provided some protection to internet users, in many African countries, there was little or no remedy if a data breach occurred because of lack of regulatory framework.
At a press conference, the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Maame Dufie Ofori, said the depreciation of the cedi to the dollar, projected inflation rate and increasing electricity and water demands have necessitated the increment.<br /> The PURC last Friday approved an 11.17% tariff increase for electricity from July 1. The PURC approved the increase after considering proposals from the Volta River Authority (VRA), the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo), the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Power Distribution Services (PDS) Ghana Limited, the Northern Distribution Company (NEDCo) and Enclave Power Company Limited (EPC). Tariff proposals for water also came from these stakeholders.<br /><br />“In line with the commission’s regulatory oversight mandate, extensive technical and financial analysis of the proposals were undertaken,” Mrs. Ofori said.<br /><br />“The key objective of the tariff review was to sustain the financial viability of the utility service providers as well as ensuring the delivery of quality service to consumers,” she explained.
At a short ceremony in Tema on June 28, this year, the construction team handed over a symbolic key to the project transition team who then handed it over to the operations team of MPS. It was at the presence of some executives of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA), Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and other stakeholders in the shipping business. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MPS, Mr Mohammed Samara, thanked the project team for delivering the project within the stipulated period. He said the new port was to help facilitate the operations of stakeholders including the shipping lines, freight forwarders, importers and exports. "Today is a wonderful day for MPS, GPHA, Ballore Transport & Logistics, APM Terminals and the entire port community. This port is to help facilitate operations of all stakeholders in the shipping industry," he said. Also appreciating the work of the project team, Mr Samara bow down as a sign of respect to salute and honour the contributions of all stakeholders towards the completion of the project. <br /><b>Best of success </b><br /> His views were, however, corroborated by the Director General (DG) of GPHA, Mr Michael Luguje, who commended the project team for delivering on the state-of-the-art facilities and also wished the operations team of MPS the best of success. He urged the operations team to manage the new terminal as effectively and productively as possible to become the leading port in Africa in terms of all the performance indicators. "I will also encourage the team to work acidiously to make this new port a transshipment hub serving the entire Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)," the Director General added. <br /><b>Ghana stands tall </b><br /> For her part, the Director of Tema Port, Ms Sandra Opoku, stated that the completion of two deepwater berths was a significant milestone for the country as a whole. She said the new terminal was a historic booster to the country's trade fortunes. With it, she observed that Ghana stands tall among its African peers when it comes to countries with world-class seaports. <br /><b>Support </b><br /> The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of TMA, Mr Felix Nii Anang-La, also took the opportunity to thank all stakeholders for making the new port a reality. "As this terminal is going live today, I will urge all stakeholders to come on board in order for the new port to serve its purpose for which it was built," he said. Sharing personal experience, the MCE disclosed that foreigners have already started praising facilities at the new port, as his recent trip to Denmark showed. He declared the support of his office to provide the needed assistance to ensure the port become a leading facility in Africa. <br /><b>About the project </b><br />The project is a joint venture between GHPA, MPS, Ballore Transport & Logistics and APM Terminals. It was developed at a cost of $1.5 billion to provide world-class port infrastructure for the next 100 years. The project involves the building of a 3.5-kilometre breakwater and an access channel harbouring 16 metres deepwater berths to accommodate larger vessels with sophisticated port handling equipment. In line with it, about 127 hectares was reclaimed from the sea for which the new terminal had been designed. Under the arrangement, the MPS has completed two berths for operations to start and continue work on the next two berths in 2020.