WOOD WORKERS REACT

The leadership of three workers groups in the wood industry in the Ashanti region has strongly rejected the claims by Parliament and the Judicial Service that the industry lacks the capacity to meet demands of the local market for which reason the two key state institutions had to import furniture from China.

 According to the wood and furniture workers, the spontaneous public reaction to the furniture importation is enough anchor for all to rely on the local wood and furniture industry not only to boost the industry for job creation, but also to strengthen the local currency.

 The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the Furniture and Wood Products Association of Ghana, Kwasi Awuah Agyemang said this at a News Conference in Kumasi to draw the public’s attention to the current state of the industry. The wood industry comprises the Furniture and Wood Products Association of Ghana, Ghana Timber Millers Organization and the Woodworkers Association of Ghana.

 Mr. Agyemang said the claims by a section of Ghanaians that local wood products are not up to international standard due to factors like poor quality and finishing and that the industry lacks the capacity to handle large demands are not entirely true and are mere perceptions. According to the Chairman, those are just the excuses that importers of wood products use to undermine the local industry. 

Mr. Agyemang disclosed that in spite of its challenges, the local wood and furniture industry has a potential to make very significant contribution to the national economic and social development. According to him, the Furniture and Wood Products Association alone currently has 400 furniture and joinery companies and employing about 40 thousand artisans and administrative personnel. 

In addition to these, the sub-sector boasts of nearly two thousand small scale carpentry shops and providing training for many more youth in the rural and urban centres across the country. In spite of the greater potential for the local wood industry to propel the national economy, available statistics from the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority confirm the increasing local demand and taste for imported furniture and wood products with China, Singapore, Brazil and the United Arabs Emirates as the major sources. 

Mr. Agyemang appealed to the government to formulate and implement deliberate policies that would promote the growth of the wood and furniture industry to compete favourably in the local market. The policies, he said, must include affordable lending rates and directive for state agencies to procure a certain percentage of their wood and furniture needs from local sources.

POOR ROAD NETWORK

  Cocoa farmers at Pewodie in the Ahafo Ano South District of Ashanti and its environs have repeated their call on the District Assembly and the Department of Feeder Roads to ensure that the poor road network linking particularly farming communities are rehabilitated under the Cocoa Roads Construction Project. 

According to the farmers, the poor road network in the area, which is among the major cocoa producing districts, is a serious setback to cocoa production. The farmers say, now that the rains have set in, it is extremely difficult for vehicles to ply the roads, making evacuation of goods and services from the area to Tepa and Mankranso difficult. 

The Spokesperson for the farmers, Mumuni Issah told GBC’s Garden City Radio that the road from Tepa Junction to Camp-Pewodie and Asikasu has deteriorated to the extent that heavy duty trucks find it difficult to ply the road. He said perishable food items such as plantain and tomatoes are getting rotten, as farmers do not have any means of transporting them to the marketing centres.

 Mr. Mumuni said when government announced the intention to make roads in cocoa growing areas motorable, the farmers were relieved only to realize that the dream of having good access roads is becoming a mirage.

 A visit to the villages by our correspondent confirmed the story. Reacting to the story, the Ahafo Ano South District Chief Executive, Gabriel Barimah said a report has reached his office and assured that the roads shall be rehabilitated as soon as repair works on the Assembly’s grader is completed. 

Mr. Barimah said, as a farmer himself, he appreciates the difficulties the farmers go through especially when the rains set in and appealed to them to exercise restraint.

OIL AND GAS DISCOVERY

The Minister of Petroleum, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah says the discovery of oil in commercial quantities in Ghana has the potential to bring significant economic development opportunities to the country.

 However, the challenge, as in so many resource-rich developing countries, is to manage the revenues and follow-up benefits from production of the depleting resource wisely, so that sustainable economic development is achieved. 

Speaking at the inaugurating of a five-storey building for the Petroleum Engineering Department at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Mr. Armah Kofi-Buah noted that Government is aware that the country could be exposed to numerous potential pitfalls such as risks of social unrest and environmental degradation, resulting from poor sector oversight, unrealistic expectations and poor communications within and among stakeholders. 

To mitigate these risks, Government received 38 million Dollars World Bank credit to implement an Oil and Gas Capacity Building Project. Mr. Armah-Kofi Buah explained that the project would rapidly increase the capacity of institutions managing the sector and offer support to institutions which would train the Ghanaian workforce to operate in the oil and gas sector.

 Beneficiary institutions include the Ministry of Petroleum, Petroleum Commission, Regional Maritime University, Takoradi Technical Institute, Kikam Technical Institute and KNUST. According to him, the oil and gas industry requires varying and differing skills sets. The Oil and Gas Capacity Building Project will therefore enhance the competencies of graduates and prepare them adequately for the world of work.

PURC MEETS SMALL SCALE INDUSTRIES

     The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission, PURC has met with members of the Association of Small Scale Industries in the Kumasi metropolis to discuss effects of the current electricity load management on their businesses and interventions to make the situation bearable and keep them in business. 

The meeting was also to educate them on the use of solar power as an alternative source of energy under a Solar Intervention Programme. 

The Executive Secretary of the PURC, Samuel Sarpong indicated that though initial stages in the solar system installations may be costly, it is generally less expensive as compared to hydro and other energy sources.

 He said the Commission will soon begin an assessment of various businesses to identify their energy needs to know how to meet their demand after which a pilot of the Solar Intervention Programme will start.

 The Chairman of the Association of Small Scale Industries, Kwame Buor lauded the Solar Intervention Programme and called for more sensitization on it. He also appealed to the PURC to include especially members of the association with expertise in solar installations in the programme.

PRESBY REGISTERS GROWTH

    The Asante Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana recorded about 10 per cent growth in membership for 2014. The Presbytery managed to establish 50 more congregations and has targeted 12 per cent growth this year, in an attempt to reach out to, and win more souls for God.

 A new Presbytery known as Asante South Presbytery with its headquarters at Obuasi, carved out from the Asante Presbytery would be inaugurated by the end of next month. A new Chairperson, Clerk and Lay Representative for the new Presbytery have been elected. 

The Chairperson of the Asante Presbytery, Reverend Kofi Amfo Akunnor disclosed these at the ongoing 93^rd Synod of the Presbytery at Kwadaso in Kumasi. He said the Presbyterian Church remains resolute in ensuring that there is continued peace in Ghana. 

Rev. Akunnor also lauded the peaceful co-existence between Muslims and Christians in Ghana over the years, stressing that nothing should be done to undermine it, in the interest of national development. He warned the new and upcoming ministers of the church against struggling for wealth, because the authority will not only expose such ministers, but dismiss them outright when caught. 

Rev. Akunnor said three ministers of the Church were dismissed last year by the General Assembly Council for corrupt practices. Some of the districts under the Asante Presbytery and individuals were honoured for their contributions towards the church’s growth. Bantama District emerged first for outstanding performance in general church activities, followed by Offinso and KNUST Districts.  

 Rockenjie Presby Junior High School and the Presby Girls Senior High at Chirapatre were also honoured for high academic performance.