Business

A golden moment for Ghanaian SMEs Deputy GEXIM CEO

The Government of Ghana through the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday July. 16, 2024, launched a ground breaking initiative which sought to assist Ghanaian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises to scale up and build their capacity to make them sustainable and compete favourably in the international marketplace.

It is dubbed the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) Growth & Opportunity Programme or SME GO Programme.

The event was launched by the President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City Accra and attended by all key and relevant stakeholders in the SME, Banking and Finance sectors.

On the sidelines of the event, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Export – Import Bank, Ms. Rosemary Beryl Archer described the SME GO Programme, as a “Golden Moment” for Ghanaian SMEs and affiliated sectors.

Available data by the Ministry of Finance indicate that Ghanaian SMEs account for 92 percent of existing companies, 85 percent of manufacturing jobs and 70 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Knowing its strategic importance to economic development, the Government is focused on developing a sustainable financing framework that allows for both public and private sectors to scale up financial and technical support towards Ghanaian SMEs.

In recent times, the world has experienced challenges and businesses were not spared. Unfortunately, SMEs are the hardest hit, with Ghanaian SMEs not an exception.

Government is determined to address these challenges, particularly access to financing, which have become inimical to advancing broad-based SME development.

Through the SME GO Programme, the Ministry of Finance aims to support the delivery of a robust SME financing programme that brings Ghana closer to its growth potential of approximately 5%.

The SME GO Programme offers targeted financial and technical support to high-growth potential SMEs to accelerate their growth by various interventions through short and medium term support through, including technical training and handholding support for beneficiaries, and optimizing public policies.

The financial support package, with flexible financing options, is to enable businesses to obtain the necessary resources to scale their operations effectively.

Three state agencies have been selected as strategic partners for the implementation of the programme which is to help the Government to create a lasting initiative and also develop a permanent infrastructure to support SMEs and ensure a sustainable impact on the ecosystem. They are the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM), Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) and the Development Bank of Ghana (DBG).

The Ghana Enterprises Agency is to work closely with SMEs to assess their financing and capacity building requirements and provide targeted support. Leveraging its expertise and network, the Ghana Export – Import Bank will facilitate access to financial and technical services to meet the diverse needs of export ready SMEs.

The Development Bank of Ghana is collaborating with the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank to work with participating financial institutions (PFIs) to launch a SME catalytic fund that will deliver larger multiples of finance required for SMEs to continue to scale their operations.

Technical assistance in the form of training and support is a key part of the SME GO Programme with the Ghana Export – Import Bank championing a collaboration with other agencies and stakeholders to set up an ultramodern Food Processing Pilot Plant in Accra, Ghana.

This will help enterprises with manufacturing solutions by testing their production and scaling up ideas in a standardized food processing pilot plant.

The financial and technical support to be provided to SMEs through the dedicated funds created by each institution under the SME GO Programme is the first step towards strengthening the SME ecosystem with the introduction of transformative measures.

In addition, regulatory and operational initiatives are being prepared to be enacted later when the immediate support required has been provided. The envisaged measures range from the creation of a one-stop-shop for SMEs to the design of business enclaves providing SMEs with fiscal incentives, financial resources and shared technology.

Ms. Archer concluded that it was her wish for Ghanaian SMEs across various sectors to prioritise value addition. A systematic approach to value chain development will result in the elimination of underlying causes of market underperformance, which is definitely going to be a game-changer.

“We now need to take a look at how our businesses can bring a product from the initial idea to its final market.Why should we strengthen the value chain across sectors? This definitely holds the key to increasing profits and productivity for SMEs, and making them sustainable by withstanding disruptions at all times. Ultimately, this will also lead to an increased contribution to socio-economic development of Ghanaian SMEs,” he added.

Business

UTAG proceed with strike, demand nationwide ban on mining in forest reserves

The University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) has decided to proceed on an industrial action despite Organised Labour’s suspension.

The Organised Labour on Wednesday, October 9, in a meeting disclosed that they have suspended their intended strike action commencing today, October 10.

However, UTAG, after a crucial meeting yesterday, decided to proceed with the strike demanding a nationwide ban on mining in forest reserves.

In a statement issued yesterday, October 9, “National Executive Council (NEC) of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) has successfully concluded a referendum regarding industrial action to support a nationwide ban on mining and prospecting for gold and other minerals in forest reserves, farmlands, and rivers.”

They added, “The referendum, which involved participation from all 15 Member Branches of UTAG, had a total of 2,762 members casting their votes. The results are as follows: YES: 2,153 votes.”

By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme

Read the full statement below

Business

EC manipulating voter’s register to influence election outcome – NDC alleges

The Deputy Director of Elections and IT for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr Rashid Tanko-Computer, has accused the Electoral Commission (EC) of manipulating the voter’s register, describing it as a covert strategy to influence the outcome of the upcoming elections.

In an interview with Joy News, Dr Tanko-Computer expressed serious concerns over the EC’s recent handling of the electoral roll, claiming that discrepancies and irregularities in the register could pave the way for election malpractice.

“The EC is manipulating the voter’s register, and since observers are not noticing these changes, they assume everything is in order. But by the time they realize what’s happening, it’s too late—the register has already been tampered with. As a result, we could head into the election using a tainted register, allowing illegalities to occur,” Dr Tanko-Computer asserted.

The NDC official further criticised the EC for allegedly bypassing legal procedures for voter transfers.

He explained that while CI 91 governs the overall voter registration process, transfers should be conducted under CI 127, Regulation 22. According to Dr Tanko-Computer, the EC has ignored this provision.

“Voters are required to appear before a returning officer with their voter ID to request a transfer. For instance, if a voter moves from Accra to Kumasi and wishes to vote in Bantama, they must appear in person, provide biometric data, and have their details updated accordingly,” he explained.

However, he accused the EC, under the leadership of Chairperson Jean Mensa, of transferring voters remotely using only voter ID numbers and photographs, without any face-to-face interaction with returning officers. “For the first time, we are seeing voter transfers happening from the EC office, without voters physically appearing before officers,” he added.

Dr Tanko-Computer also raised alarm over what he called the existence of multiple versions of the voter’s register. During a meeting between the NDC and the EC, the party discovered that the register presented to them was different from the one made public.

“We realised the EC was operating with at least three versions of the voter’s register. When we questioned this and requested the corrected version, the EC failed to provide us with any updates. It seems they are working with information we are not privy to,” he stated.

The NDC has called on the Electoral Commission to address these concerns urgently, warning that the credibility of the entire election process could be compromised if the discrepancies are not resolved.

He urged the EC to provide full transparency in their operations and release an accurate and unified version of the voter’s register to all political stakeholders.

The NDC held a nationwide protest on Tuesday, September 17, demanding that the EC must allow an independent audit of the register.

Source:Myjoyonline.com