On the ball.

Ghana's economy is in overdrive as an increasingly liberalised economy brings forth new ideas and new projects, some of them legal and others less so. George Frank Asmah reports on just some of these: The theft of thousands of dollars worth of rubber that has led to a ban on rubber exports, the next major step in Ghana's electrification plans and the beginnings of a new Pan-African bank for women.

Rubber banned

Ghana has banned the exportation of unprocessed rubber "with immediate effect". Mrs Emma Mitchell, Minister of Trade and Industry, explained the ban by saying that it is: "To ensure that Ghana maintains its reputation on the world market," besides "minimizing economic losses".

Mrs Mitchell also says it is will prevent companies and private individuals from exporting raw or unprocessed rubber to the detriment of the national economy. Mr Lawrence K Addae, General Manager of the Ghana Rubber Estates Ltd (GREL) says, "GREL management endorses the Government's decision," adding that it will counteract the rampant theft of unprocessed rubber from GREL's plantations "by unscrupulous people who sell it on to private companies engaged in the illegal export of raw rubber". GREL is the biggest state-sponsored rubber plantation in the country. With a processing capacity of 40 tonnes per hour, it is capable of processing "all raw rubber being produced in the country".

The ban may not last long however. Mr Addae says that the GREL management has taken steps to stop rubber stealing on its plantations, and has urged the Ministry of Trade and Industry to ensure that all export rubber be either in crumb, crepe or smoked sheet form and exported through the port of Takoradi after being certified by GREL in order to ensure the transparency of export arrangements. Mr Addae has also expressed concern at "the undue delay by the law courts in dealing with people put before them for stealing rubber".

High Voltage 

The first work on Ghana's $412m thermal power project - consisting of a 300mW combined cycle plant - began at Aboadze, near the Western Regional capital Takoradi, on November 10, 1995.

The project, code-named TK1, involves the construction of two 100mW combustion turbines which will be the next major thrust of the Volta River Authority's electricity production for the country after Akosombo and the Kpong hydro-electric stations.

The turbines will help the VRA supplement and expand upon the country's existing electric power generation, and meet increasing demand. The contract agreement was signed in Accra on October 31 between the Volta River Electric Power Authority and a Joint Venture of General Electric USA and Cimi Montubi of Italy. According to Mr Kalitsi, the first phase of the project is expected to be commissioned in the middle of 1997 while the second phase is slated for completion by the middle of 1998.

Mr Simon Abingya, Deputy Minister of Mines and Energy, said with some pride that with the completion of the thermal plant, every corner of the country would be served with electricity. He pointed out that rural Ghanaians have relied on fuel wood for far too long, to the detriment of the environment.

Banking on women

A new bank, with the primary objective of making finance more readily accessible to African women is to be established by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

The decision to set up Afrika Women Bank Ltd, was made at a meeting in Kampala organized by the ECA, which has asked Ghana's Ministry of Finance to help conduct feasibility studies into how best to establish the bank.

Pre-feasibility studies have indicated that in spite of the proliferation of credit schemes in Africa, women's access to formal credit remains low and limited, both in terms of the number of women participants, and the volume of funds and resources made available. Although lending mechanism also exist in commercial banks in Africa, the requirements for collateral often render them irrelevant.

The Kampala meeting also pointed to the need to create a bank that can help women mobilize their savings and promote investment as a way to help their businesses.

New entry

Meanwhile, the latest bank to enter Ghana's banking industry, First Atlantic Merchant Bank Ltd (FAMBL), opened its doors for the first time to Ghana's business community on November 1, 1995.

FAMBL has a mixed British, American and Ghanaian shareholding structure. Major shareholders of the bank include Amalgamated Investments Ltd (Ghanaian), Equator Overseas Ltd (a member of the Hong Kong Banking Corporation), Allied Investment Company Ltd (Ghanaian), Global Emerging Markets Ltd (British), and the wealthy Social Security and National Insurance Trust (Ghanaian).

FAMBL controls two subsidiary companies: First Atlantic Brokers Ltd - licensed to deal on the Ghana Stock Exchange - and First Atlantic Asset Management Co, which will provide fund management and portfolio management services.

According to a Bank official, "traditional banking products like loans and overdrafts, provided under corporate banking, are no longer sufficient to fully meet the needs of today's business community. This therefore calls for the introduction of innovative and creative products and services, and FAMBL provides an unmatched capacity to respond to these needs.