News
Parliament waves tax for 4 companies under 1D1F
Parliament yesterday approved request by the government for tax waivers to four companies under the One District One Factory initiative.
The package included import duties, import Value Added Tax, Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) levy, Import National Health Insurance Levy and Export and Import (EXIM) levy.
The companies are Camelot Ghana Limited (US$347,174), Favour 01 Limited (US$131,988), Gee’s Fresh Point Limited (GHC48, 369) and LK International Company Ghana Limited (US$2,284,831).
Areas of the economy where the companies are expected to operate include production of non-alcoholic beverages, tricycle assembling, security printing and processing and packaging of birds.
The request for waiver laid in the House on May 26, 2020, was in accordance with Article 174(2) of the Constitution.
Presenting the Finance Committee’s report on the waiver, Chairman, Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah said the move was in line with government’s efforts to industrilise the country.
The report, a copy of which the Ghanaian Times has said in part that “considering the benefits to be derived from the projects, the Committee is of the view that the requests will go a long way to boost government’s flagship 1D1F programme.”
According to the report, some of the benefits of the projects would include increased employment, reduction in post harvest losses of fruits by providing alternative market, increased export earnings and increased fruit production in the country.
The report said Camelot Ghana Limited’s main business was the printing of security documents and continuous forms.
“The company offers the printing of cheque books, bankers’ drafts, share certificates, dividend warrants and certificates, lottery tickets of various types and continuous and cut sheet stationery, preprints for laser printers, electoral ballot papers-standard and special size and many more,” it said.
Located in Tamale, LK International Company Limited assembles tricycles and other related products for distribution on the local market and countries in the ECOWAS sub region such as Burkina Faso, Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, Benin and Mali.
Favour 01 Limited, the report said is a limited liability company under the Companies Code of Ghana, 1963 (Act 179) and is located at Ayikuma in the Shai Osudoku District in the Greater Accra Region.
Gee’s Fresh Point Limited, the Committee reported is a gender sensitive organisation working with NGOs like WUSC, FARM RADIO, and GIZ towards empowering women through capacity building programmes and creating ready markets for women poultry farmers.
A member of the Committee, Benjamin Kpodo, urged that government to track the intended mission of the firms to ensure that they lived up to the billing.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
News
Craze for x’mas shopping: Crowded markets, low patronage
Vendors of food and other wares associated with the Christmas celebration have expressed surprise at the low patronage despite the increased number of visitors to some of the major markets across the capital.
Four days to the celebration(Christmas), the markets are filled with various products ranging from food, clothing, livestock and many other stuff, but according to the vendors, patrons are doing more ‘window’ shopping.
The Spectator on visits to some of the markets in the capital, notably the Odawna, Makola, Accra Central Business District, New Town and others made similar observations as shoppers crowd them but did little in terms of purchases.
The paper also observed that majority of vendors, originally selling other wares have switched to product related to the festive season.
What it means is that there are a lot more clothes, food and vegetables, livestock and poultry, toys, firecrackers, drinks of different types and many others on display.
The markets have also stretched to the pedestrian pavement, leaving very narrow spaces for commuters to move about freely.
That, in addition to a few of the female vendors dressed in coloured attires to reflect the occasion, has heightened the euphoria, leaving the low sales as the only headache for the vendors.
Speaking with this paper, they sounded very optimistic, believing that sales would improve in the last few days to the yuletide.
According to them, there was the opportunity to sell beyond Christmas as the New Year celebration offers similar opportunity to trade the same wares.
They urged patrons to throng the markets to shop since prices were quite moderate and products affordable for all.
News
Retirement service for Elder John Ackom-Asante,3 others
Retired Deputy Editor of The Spectator, Elder John Ackom-Asante, was last Sunday honoured by the Church of Pentecost Windy Hills District in Kasoa in the Central Region, with a retirement thanksgiving service, after serving for 26 year as an Elder of the church.
He was honoured with a citation and certificate of service along with three other elders who served in the capacity for various years.
Elder Ackom-Asante was baptised at the Darkuman Central Assembly in 1979 and ordained as an Elder in 1997.
The citation read “Your selfless service, zeal, willingness to relate wholeheartedly and your desire to effect change has gone a long way to shape the lives of many people in the church and the nation over the 26 years of your dedication to the service of the Lord.”
Elder Ackom- Asante held many positions at the Darkuman Central Assembly, Obuasi in the Ashanti Region and Tema, serving in various capacities as youth and evangelism ministry leader and marriage counsellor.
He was the founding member of the Darkuman Christian Fellowship, a member of the Greater Accra Christian Fellowship; member of Bible Society of Ghana; founding member Obuasi Chapter Full Gospel Businessmen Fellowship International and founding member of New Times Corporation Christian Fellowship and Chaplain, Methodist University Tema Campus 2009- 2010.
As a professional journalist, Elder Ackom-Asante combined effectively and efficiently his duty as a member and elder of the church and the demands of his profession, with admiration from the church, kith and kin, till his retirement on December
From Alhaji Salifu Abdul-Rahaman, Kasoa
