Dr. Manteaw, who was speaking at a Western Regional Stakeholders forum on Petroleum Sector Governance organized by Friends of the Nation on Tuesday, noted that, the practice where resource-rich district assemblies prepare their District Medium Term Development Plan without factoring the operations of the companies hinders the integration of the company’s operations into the local economy, and the benefits the district could get.

[contextly_sidebar id=”4gpSUoRTGn2zoj3tojbCS3cjFJxwP1dM”]He referenced the Prestea Huni Valley district in the Western Region, where he said that “you have a situation in the Prestea Huni Valley District for example, where Golden Star Resources spends $18 million annually to import frozen chicken from Portugal. Can the district assembly factor this importation into its planning processes such that, the assembly develops a plan for people within the district to go into poultry farming to produce what will meet the standards of the company’s demands?”

Dr. Manteaw added that, “mining companies also import activated carbon or palm kennel for heating purposes. Palm kennel is in abundance in the Prestea Huni Valley district and other parts of the country; yet mining companies spend millions of dollars importing this commodity for their business. For you to know all these, the district development authority needs to do engage the companies in their areas to know their demands, so they can factor them in their plans”.

The model, Dr. Manteaw said, will ensure that the company’s operations are integrated into the local economy to deal with some of the developmental deficits seen in resource-rich districts.

“It will also create jobs for our people that will in effect create new tax opportunities for the government. We will also have the opportunity to add value to our exports such that, if the Obuasi Municipal, the Tarkwa Municipal and other gold mining districts made a conscious attempt at positioning people in the district to buy some gold from producers to produce jewelry, necklaces and bracelets and other ornaments, Obuasi Municipality wouldn’t have suffered the way it is after AngloGold’s operations in Obuasi went down.”

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By: Obrempong Yaw Ampofo/citifmonline.com/Ghana 

The post Consider businesses in your plans – Manteaw urges MMDAs appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Some 31 senior officers of the Service were re-assigned from their various regional and district posts on Wednesday.

ISODEC believes the shake-up is necessary for plugging financial leakages at the country’s entry and exit points.

The Comptroller General on Wednesday announced massive transfers of senior officers within the service, largely affecting personnel at the Kotoka International Airport and the Aflao border.

In an interview with Citi News, Campaign Coordinator of ISODEC, Dr Steve Manteaw welcomed the shake-up, saying “One thing that I very much welcome is the fact that we are beginning to identify all the challenges that has to do with the various sectors of the economy with the view to tighten up things and to prevent unnecessary leakages either by way of revenue or abuses on the party of public officials.”

“We also know that there has been a very big shake up within customs all with the view of identifying leakages and abuses of public office for private gain and so we will all welcome the efforts but we will monitor and try to evaluate the impact of these initiatives to be able to ascertain for ourselves whether we are achieving the said objectives.”

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By: Sixtus Dong Ullo/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post ISODEC commends mass transfers within Immigration Service appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The $152 million tax waiver was approved by Parliament on goods and equipment imported or purchased locally for the Western Corridor Gas Infrastructure Development Project.

Following its conference on illicit financial flows into Ghana, the groups, led by the Integrated Social Development Center (ISODEC), accused the then Parliament of negligence hence the call.

In a Citi News interview, ISODEC’s Campaign Coordinator, Dr. Steve Manteaw, said Parliament did not follow the due process, but still found time to approve the tax waivers.

“Parliament was a bit negligent in not ensuring that due processes were followed in terms of ratifying that transaction which was essentially an international transaction between Ghana Gas, a Ghanaian entity, and an international entity, SINOPEC.”

Waivers approved without perusing contract

Dr. Steve Manteaw also noted that “the same Parliament, however went out of its way to approve tax waivers which were contained in the contract without seeing the contract itself, and therefore not able to satisfy itself on the grounds for the tax waivers.”

He conceded that, an investigation may not correct this mistake, “but will help to lay down processes that will forestall a re-occurrence of these situations.”

Sinopec International Petroleum Services Ghana Limited, a subsidiary of China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation SINOPEC of China, is helping the Ghana National Gas Company Limited (GNGCL) build a multipurpose port facility.

The facility at Domunli in the Jomoro District of the Western Region,  is primarily meant for exporting Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and condensates from the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant (GPP) by sea to Tema.

The company in an earlier arrangement was able to raise funding towards construction of the Atuabo Gas Processing plant with about $1 billion within a year to complete development of the gas plant.

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By: Sixtus Dong Ullo/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Probe tax waivers granted Chinese company – CSOs to Parliament appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.