Daily Heritage Newspaper - December 21. New Digital Newspaper

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Inside DEC 20, 2018 .qxp_Layout 1 12/20/18 8:02 PM Page 7 20TH DECEMBER 2018 THURSDAY CURRENCY PARIS CODE BUYING SELLING US Dollar USDGHS 4.7871 4.7919 RATES Pound Sterling GBPGHS 6.1380 6.1461 Euro GBPGHS 5.4483 5.4530 10 DAILY HERITAGE FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2018 WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH Railway sector being resurrected – Akufo-Addo PRESIDENT NANA Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo has stated that the railway sector is being revived and resurrected. Addressing the media on Wednesday, <strong>December</strong> 19, 2018, President Akufo-Addo stated that “the existing narrow-gauge network, which had almost disappeared, and led to a generation of young Ghanaians hardly knowing about railways, is coming alive.” The President explained that rehabilitation works on the fifty-six (56) kilometre narrow gauge line from Kojokrom to Tarkwa through Nsuta were nearing completion, and would lead to the restoration of passenger rail services from Tarkwa to Takoradi for the first time since 2007. “The freight service from the manganese mine at Nsuta to Takoradi is in operation, and the ongoing rehabilitation has also led to a spectacular reduction in the number of derailments and incidents that occur on the line,” he added. Particularly touched by the enthusiasm of the workers, during his last visit to the Ghana Railway Company Ltd., President Akufo-Addo told the media that the company, with its own workforce, had started rehabilitation works on the seventy point eight (70.8) kilometre narrow gauge section of the Eastern Railway Line from Accra to Nsawam and Accra to Tema. “They did not have or need any foreign experts, so-called. They had •President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo the expertise, and those who did not were ready to learn, and they certainly had enough enthusiasm to carry them through,” he said. The President continued, “Rehabilitation of the Achimota to Tema section of the Line is approximately ninety percent (90%) complete, and test runs have commenced. Work is ongoing on the Achimota to Accra Central section of the line and the Achimota to Nsawam section, and I have been assured that this will be completed before the end of the year.” As a result, he noted that ten (10) Vodafone leads partnership to accelerate SME growth existing passenger coaches have also been refurbished, ready to be pressed into action when commuter services re-open on this line. “We are not only rehabilitating the old narrow-gauge line. I am happy to report that the procurement process is far advanced to develop a new standard gauge line for the Eastern Railway Line and others for us to have a network that covers the whole country,” President Akufo-Addo indicated. A major difficulty, which could slow down the work of this exciting development, he said, was the nuisance posed by encroachers, and appealed to all Ghanaians “to join in and be part of this exciting development, and not place any hindrances in the path of bringing modern railways to our country.” Aviation, and roads President Akufo-Addo also indicated that there was a lot of excitement and a lot of activity in the aviation sector, with the entry of two new private airlines offering services along the domestic routes. “We welcome the competition, as this, already, is bringing down the prices for customers. Terminal 3, at Kotoka International Airport, is open for business and attracting a lot of positive comments. I expect that the managers of this facility will maintain it at the highest standards. The airports at Ho and Wa are ready, and we await the commercial flights that have been promised,” he added. The President indicated also that there would be even greater excitement in the country when work on repairing and building many roads around the country intensified. With the $2 billion Sino-Hydro project about to take off, he stated that US dollar barter deal should bring a dramatic and very welcome change to our infrastructure developments, especially in the roads sector. “The roads that are going to be tackled first, under the facility, have been enumerated, and they should make a great and immediate difference to the lives of many people. The first $650 million worth of projects have been approved by Parliament, and are ready for execution,” he added. President Akufo-Addo noted that the professionals who would be supervising and working on the projects must ensure value for money. “I am aware that there is some anxiety among some people that we might be putting ourselves in a position of too much dependency on China. I am determined that we should use what opportunities there are to raise ourselves out of poverty, but there is no chance that I would ever preside over the loss of Ghana’s sovereignty to any foreign country,” the President assured. The repayment of the facility, he assured, is through the supply of aluminium products to China, as the country has resisted any attempt to export the raw material for the repayment. “That is why we have established the Ghana Integrated Aluminum Development Corporation, a statutory corporation, to take charge of the development of the full value chain of our bauxite resources. The Corporation is ready to begin work. Not only is this an innovative way to raise funds for our infrastructure development, but it also enables us to establish an industry with a metal which is described as the metal of the future, and which can be a major catalyst for our industrialisation,” President added. VODAFONE GHANA has extended its commitment to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by instituting a programme to provide investment opportunities and advice for these businesses in Ghana. In a partnership struck between the telecom company, and NexInnova and Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) as separate entities, Vodafone seeks to foster innovation and creativity for SMEs whilst making them globally competitive. The partnership will operate through a common network – Bizlynx– which was launched last week as part of the programme. Bizlynx will be a threephased programme that will advance local innovation, digitalisation and create a pipeline of investment prospects that address the business challenges of these small and medium companies. The Director of Vodafone Business Solutions, Mrs Angela Mensah-Poku, said the •Officials of Vodafone Ghana interacting with players in the SME industry company was excited about this unique programme which will help address two of the key challenges facing our SME customers - innovation and funding. “We are persuaded that this initiative will transform the face of SMEs in Ghana and, to some extent, the sub-region.” Participating SMEs will have the opportunity to pitch their businesses to a panel of investors for partnership and financial support, at the end of the programme.
Inside DEC 20, 2018 .qxp_Layout 1 12/20/18 8:02 PM Page 8 WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH DAILY HERITAGE FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2018 11 Politics Do not mind anything that anyone tells you about anyone else. Judge everyone and everything for yourself —Henry James Govt must support recycling industry —NARRA BY RAMSON ACQUAH-HAYFORD THE DIRECTOR of Policy Planning and Programme for the National Reuse and Recyclers Association (NARRA), Ibrahim Musah has said Ghana cannot win its fight against waste if the country continues to simply collect waste and dump the raw waste at the few engineered landfills sites available in the city. Speaking as part of an advocacy forum under the auspices of DANIDA, USAID and European Union sponsored Business Sector Advocacy Challenge Fund, Mr Musah said there was the need for appropriate fiscal policy interventions that would open up the recycling industry in Ghana to attract significant investment. •SIbrahim Musah, Director of Policy Planning and Programme for National Reuse and Recyclers Association He lamented that most of the waste generated in Ghana are either disposed of straight away at the landfill sites, which is a threat to the lifespan of these facilities or discreetly dumped into available and unprotected open spaces across the metropolis. “The lack of recycling activity means tons of the waste which could serve as sources of raw materials are left to remain in the waste stream, a situation that NARRA is determined to change as it pursues its vision of a zero waste country Ghana,” he added. He said there was ample evidence to suggest that the absence of tax incentives on the importation of specific equipment and machinery used in the waste collection and recycling industry in Ghana was a major barrier to the development of a viable waste collection, reuse and recycling business in the country. He added that the high tariffs on such equipment and machinery are making the cost of doing business in the recycling industry very expensive and unattractive to investors as industrial actors are unable to invest in the required machinery and technology. “One of the guiding principles of the Revised National Environmental Sanitation Policy of Ghana is for all waste to be considered as Material In Transition (MINT). “The philosophy of MINT is that waste is a material resource which is not to be discarded but value added on at various stages while in transition within the production and consumption cycles. This has the potential of creating green jobs and reducing the cost of managing waste. Unfortunately, the current tariff regime on the importation of recycling equipment has worked against the optimisation of the socio-economic potential of Ghana’s recycling sector,” he added. He remarked that it was therefore imperative for the government to take a critical look at its tax incentives on not only the plastic waste but also general waste recycling in Ghana as a mechanism. “Government must give life to the recycling industry in Ghana and its intention of making Accra the cleanest city in Africa by introducing appropriate fiscal policy interventions within the recycling industry. “This will enable the sector contribute significantly to the national waste management effort and ensure a more sustainable utilisation of Ghana’s resources while creating more green jobs within the recycling sector for our teeming unemployed youth,” he added. Integrity. Fairness. Service. COMPLIANCE WITH VAT, GETFUND LEVY AND NHIL REQUIREMENTS The Ghana Revenue Authority wishes to remind al l VAT T, GETFUND Levy and National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL) registered businesses that they are required by law to issue VAT T, GETFUND Levy and NHIL INVOICES to their customers on purchases of goods and services made by them (VAT registered bu sinesses) . The businesses are also required to submit their VAT T, GETFUND Levy and NHIL returns and make the necessary payments to their local Domestic Ta x Revenue Division (DTRD) offices by the last working day of every mon th. Such businesses are requested to submit and make payments returns for 2018 by Monday, 31st <strong>December</strong>, 2018 to avoid penalty. for all outstanding the imposition of COMMISSIONER-GENERAL Visit our website: www.gra.gov.gh # OurTaxesOurFuture
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