VRA’S TROUBLES (3)

President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana

By Ekow Mensah

The continued subsidization of VALCO’s energy use by the Volta River Authority (VRA) and the Government of Ghana raises many difficult questions.

Perhaps the most important is who is benefiting from this subsidy which is obviously unsustainable.

Arising out of this is the issue of ownership of the company which is still shrouded in mystery.

As at 2012, a search at the companies Registry revealed that VALCO was still not registered in the name of the Government of Ghana.

Documents at the registry showed that VALCO was still owned by Kaiser and Renolds and that the Board of Directors appointed from 2002 remained unchanged.

One major question is what went into the decision of the Kufuor administration to purchase VALCO in 2004?

In any case, which public agencies were involved in the decision and what technical and financial preparation did they make before the purchase.

Did they have a business plan and did it factor in energy supply and price projections?

The Government of Ghana has to take a firm decision on how long it wants to subsidise the operations of VALCO at the rate of US$150million per annum.

According to VALCO it can only operate profitably if its requirement of a minimum of two potlines is provided.

Experts however say that this could push the Government subsidy to as much as US$300 million per annum.

They say that a case can be made for the reactivation of VALCO operations, but only as part of a fully integrated national aluminum industry, with forward and backward linkages and within the framework of a broad petro-chemical industry.

Editorial

KILLING CONTRACTORS

 This case is typical of the worries of Ghanaian contractors.

 A Ghanaian contractor took a loan of GH¢7,018,336.28 to enable him execute a contract worth GH¢7,992,805.03.

The contractor finished his work and submitted his certificates for payment in June last year.

Between June last year and now interest on the loan has accumulated to GH¢1, 088,567.81.

The contractor’s profit would have amounted to GH¢974,468.75.

The Government has not paid a pesewa to this contractor, the interest on whose loan continues to grow.

This means that if the contractor is paid all the monies owned him today, he would still be indebted and would have lost.

The Insight believes that the Ghanaian contracting business is gradually but surely being killed.

This situation has resulted in the destruction of such once vibrant contracting firms as K.S. Annan and sons, Swedru Contractors, the State Construction Corporation and many more.

 We urge the Government to take urgent steps to pay the contractors now.

If care is not taken, Ghana may have to rely entirely on foreign contractors to do everything.

Please act now to save Ghanaian contractors.

TAXES ON MOBILE PHONES CAN BACK FIRE

By Kwabena Adu Coffie

Industry players are sounding the alarm bells over the dangers inherent in the introduction of 20 per cent tax on mobile phones.

They claim that if the imposition of the tax is not coupled with rigorous measures to combat smuggling, the mobile phone companies currently operating in the country could collapse.

Intense smuggling would also compromise the quality of phones and lead to a situation where the cost of importing replacement phones could be worrying.

In interviews with the players over a seven-day period, all of them said Ghana could also lose its place as West Africa’s hub for the distribution of phones.

Alhaji  Mohammed Seidu, a mobile phone dealer said it was important for Ghana to learn from the experience of La Cote d’Ivoire which imposed a 20 per cent duty and 15 per cent VAT on mobile phones.

“Nokia, Samsung and other major brands are no longer operating in La Cote d’Ivoire and they have moved their operations to Ghana” he said.

Mr. Samuel Obeng , said, Ghana could very easily lose its place as the hub for mobile phone distribution in West Africa to Nigeria and this could have serious consequences for the national economy.

YES, THE DRONES ARE WORKING

 

A US made killer drone disturbs humanity around the globe

By Mark Andorful

For what it is worth, the case of, the United States whistleblower, Edward Snowden, who is now believed to be ensconced in Moscow, is gaining some measured attention worldwide.

This gentleman is presently being hounded by United States authorities for, as alleged, leaking vital US secrets to the world. It is claimed that those secrets, as revealed, are damaging to the clandestine activities of the United States of American.

In a bizarre twist to the episode, certain European countries whose interests are supposed, to be affected by the leaks have tried to get hold of this man at the behest of the US.

It has been reported that the plane carrying Bolivian President from Moscow back to La-Paz was grounded for thirteen hours in Austria on suspicion that Snowden was on board the aircraft. And he wasn't.

If this incident is anything to go by, it should seem that things are going haywire.

Remember, Snowden's leaks are not being challenged in substance but for daring to expose the deed. So what will happen if they get him?

This affair brings to the fore n whole lot of activities, some overt and others covert currently being undertaken by the US in pursuit of its grand design to subordinate weaker countries to its power.

Facts must be faced. In the strategic thinking of Washington Africa, particularly the sub-region of West Africa is a vulnerable, if not a fertile place for operations. Are our leaders conscious of this situation or not?

Already Washington has entered into a pact with the government of Niger, which borders Mali, to establish a US military base on the heels of the French intervention in Mali deploying ground troops and warplanes.

There can be no doubt that US drone base in Niger may, begin Pentagon expansion policy implementation in Africa very shortly once the groundwork has been completed. It has to be noted that Pentagon instructors have been training Malian special units over the last decade.

As if agile minds can be hoodwinked, US officials-are on record as saying that is spy planes would be used only for .intelligence gathering over Mali and other part of Northwest Africa.

But the same things were said before spy flights turned into missile strikes accounting for a great number of civilian victims in Afghanistan, Yemen and Pakistan.

That being so, it can safety be said that the drone base in Niger can only be a veritable springboard for not only surveillance but for comprehensive operations under one guise or another.

Now one pretext is fighting Islamists posing treats to Washington, yet the ultimate aim goes farther man that -- laying hold of the region's strategically vital energy sources and mineral wealth.

In all this, there is an underlying objective. The US is flexing its military muscles to halt the advance of its imaginary rival or competitor, China, in order to dominate resource - rich countries in which China has developed significant economic interests.

The process of doing this, however, bodes ill for Africa and, most essentially, the West African sub-region.

At this time when Washington is establishing a base in Niger, it is exploring ways and means to reach neighbouring countries like Mali and Burkina Faso for a possible base for US drones. The US already deploys small-manned surveillance planes from a base in the military zone of the Ouagadougou Airport in Burkina Faso.

This is one of a series of informal bases tied to the US Africa command (AFRICOM) whose only official base in Africa is a joint Franco-American base in the East African coastal city - state of Djibouti.

According to US officials the drones flying form Niger or Burkina Faso would only monitor the flow of supplies and weapons from Libya across the Sahara to northern Mali.

It is noteworthy that Africom commander General Carter Ham has declined to comment on the US basing of forces in Niger, stating the subject was "too operational for me to confirm or deny". However Niger's President, Mahamadou Issoufou, has stressed that he is willing to establish a "long-term strategic relationship with the US"

Yes, the drones are working!