My Ghana Electronic Desk

 BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE Global Water Partnership West Africa (GWP-WA), has signed two memorandums of understanding with the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS) and the West Africa Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). Both official ceremonies were held in Ouagadougou on Wednesday in the conference room of CILSS in its headquarters of Ouaga 2000, and the conference room of the WAEMU respectively. The MOU with CILSS, which aims to strengthen collaboration ties between the two institutions was initialled by the Executive Secretary of CILSS, Professor Alhousseini Bretaudeau and Mr. Hama Arba Diallo, Chairman of GWP-WA. After signing the MOU, the Executive Secretary of CILSS, Prof. Bretaudeau, said the signing of the document is "a very important step that commits both institutions to more common actions for achieving MDGs." Mr. Hama Arba Diallo, GWP-WA Chairman, for his part, after recalling the specifics o

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE A Programme Officer of Third World Network – Africa, a non-governmental organisation, Mr. Gyekye Tandoh, has stated that Ghana is currently experiencing a fiscal deficit because banks operating in the country are being subsidised through the sweat of Ghanaians and by government as well. “Now all of us are subsidising them, the government too is subsidising them and this is really the basis of the fiscal deficit that we have. So if we say that the key thing is for government to reduce expenditure - and in Africa that has been the phenomenon…the chief way in which the government is reducing the deficit right now, is to squeeze expenditure and if you squeeze expenditure you are virtually squeezing money and the economy itself,” he said. “Therefore all you are trying to say, is that because you have seen some sign , because of somebody else’s agenda that your cocoa price has gone up slightly, that your gold price has gone up sl

By Edmund Smith-Asante The Bank of Ghana (BoG), has stated that Ghanaian investors resident offshore can continue to invest in Government Treasury Bills, contrary to an impression created in certain quarters that they cannot.  In its reaction to what it termed certain misconceptions, the BoG explained that it is only where a non-resident investor, having sent funds from offshore, requires that the proceeds of the investment (that is, interest and maturity value) be REPATRIATED offshore, that they are restricted to the purchase of Government Securities with tenor of three (3) years and above. In the press release that carried the Bank’s reaction, BoG expatiated that “where a non-resident investor requires that his/her investment proceeds be repatriated, then the investment can only be in instruments with tenors of three years (3) and above, such as the 3-year or 5-year bond.”  Ghana’s Central Bank divulged that a lot of Ghanaians who are non-resid

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE Secretary General of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Aidan White, has stated that journalism is not about freedom of expression, but rather about constrained expression. He said a good journalist must note that journalism is actually a distinct form of expression, reminding journalists that they are not in the business of freedom of expression. “Journalism is not about freedom of expression; journalism is about restrained, constrained expression,” because journalists must tell the truth, be independent and make themselves accountable, Mr. White encapsulated. He made the statements Saturday when he addressed the 15 th Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Awards and 61 st anniversary in Accra, at which he was chairman. The theme for the Awards ceremony which saw 31 journalists being awarded with 33 awards and five personalities receiving honorary awards, was “Unethical Journalism and Corruption in The Medi

  EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE WaterAid Ghana (WAG), an international nongovernmental organisation with focus on water, sanitation and hygiene issues, has presented a cheque worth GHC2,500 to the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) for its awards slated for August 21, 2010. The cheque represents the organisation’s sponsorship package for the Sanitation and Hygiene category of the GJA 2009 Media Awards. Presenting the cheque last week Friday, Dr. Afia Zakiya, WaterAid Ghana’s Country Representative said “We are supporting the ‘Hygiene and Sanitation Award’ in a bid to motivate and increase interest among  media practitioners to write stories, investigate and research water, sanitation and hygiene issues.” She added that WatertAid’s sponsorship of the award is meant to inspire journalists to strive towards achieving excellence in their work and also help raise the standard of quality for sanitation and hygiene reporting. “We are particularly interested in

EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE Nokia, the world’s number one manufacturer of mobile devices by market share, has adopted a hard line policy with its authorised distributors and retailers, in a bid to protect unsuspecting buyers from the hazards of fake devices. In order to check the menace of counterfeit products, the mobile devices company says it is currently working through a dedicated field force to monitor which outlets are selling imitation products. Nokia adds that culpable retailers can be penalised by not receiving rebates, incentives and market support, as well as lose their license as Nokia authorised dealers. Meanwhile, Nokia’s Head of Government Affairs and Business Environment, Jussi Hinkkanen says, though Nokia abhors the apparent menace of the counterfeit products, the job of effectively addressing the negative trend rests squarely on regulatory agencies. He said a good way for consumers to ensure that they are purchasing the genuine devices

EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE A study published by the International Institute of Environment and Development (IIED) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) today 6 August 2010, has cautioned governments in Africa and Asia to embrace and plan for rapid urbanisation or risk harming the future prospects of hundreds of millions of their citizens — with knock-on effects worldwide.  It says policymakers should heed lessons from Brazil whose failure in the past to plan for rapid urban growth exacerbated poverty and created new environmental problems and long-term costs that could have been avoided. The study warns that the proportion of developing countries that have adopted policies to curb urban growth rose from 46 percent in 1976 to 74 percent in 2007 and this will “undoubtedly result in increasing poverty and environmental degradation .” It’s authors, Dr George Martine (past President of the Brazilian Association of Population Studies) and Dr Gordon McGranahan

EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE The Food and Agric Show (FAGRO) 2010 Secretariat (FAGRO), has entered into a three-year collaborative pact with FBX Global Exhibition Services, a multinational company based in Barcelona, Spain to promote and market FAGRO 2010 in Asia and Europe. Announcement of the pact for the Food and Agric Show, which was first held in Ghana last year, was made Monday, after the agreement had been signed between the FAGRO 2010 Secretariat on the one hand and FBX Global Exhibition Services. According to a press release issued by the secretariat, under the terms of agreement, FBX Global Exhibition Services will bring on board fifty (50) foreign investment companies from Spain, Portugal and China to exhibit and participate in FAGRO 2010, which comes off from Tuesday, October 12, to Sunday, October 17, 2010 at the Ghana International Trade Fair Centre, Accra.  The Chief Executive Officer of FBX Global Exhibition Services, Francesc Borras, who