SARPONG'S BLOG

By Fred SARPONG A survey conducted by Ericsson Consumer Lab in Ghana, Tanzania and South Africa has shown that Ghana recorded a low patronage of Mobile Commerce service in the country. The data used for this report has a representative sampling of the population aged 16 to 60 and is based on 526 face-to-face interviews in Ghana, 502 face-to-face interviews in Tanzania and 1020 face-to-face interviews in South Africa. Quantitative fieldwork and extensive in-depth interviews with 31 consumers evenly distributed in three markets were conducted in Ghana (Accra), South Africa (Johannesburg), and Tanzania (Dar-Es-Salaam). According to the report, interview persons were chosen to represent the financial scope of urban consumers, and were both users and non-users of mobile commerce. BusinessWeek  learnt that top three fields of current m-commerce use in these three countries were transfer money, buy airtime and pay for electricity (Tanzania); access account information, tran...

Breeding Corruption, extortions, bribery, & smuggling  Restricting inter-regional trade & freedom of movement of people Special investigations by Kwabena Adu Koranteng (Ghana) & Ouamar Abdulai (Burkina Faso) Have you ever crossed a border in West Africa with or without a passport, ECOWAS green card or a national identity card? If yes, then what did you experience? Did any border security agent demand money from you before you could cross? How many times did they demand money from you on both sides of the border? Besides, are you thinking of  crossing any of the borders with  large sums of illegal money or transporting  counterfeit products like pharmaceuticals, electrical wire or electronic products from one port of entry to a West African country and wondering what to do? It’s easy: have some thousands of cedis, naira or CFA with you and bribe your way from one country to the next and the next and the next. Increasingly, West African borders have becom...

By Fred Sarpong Over GH¢145,237 was withdrawn from the account of the Dangme West District Assembly (DWDA) by unknown persons in 2009, investigations have shown. Investigation conducted by this reporter revealed that in 2009 the money was withdrawn from the Assembly’s three separate accounts at the Shai Rural Bank Limited. The account numbers are District Development Fund (DDF) -1000000003362, Internal Generated Fund account ( IGF ) - 1000000001869, and Internal Generated Fund account ( IGF ) – 1000000003395. The withdrawals were made on 10 th August, and 23 rd  December, 2009. According to the investigations, the District Coordinating Director (DCD) also made a withdrawal of GH¢11,210 from the District Development Fund account. The DCD made three separate withdrawals on 18 th  November, (GH¢166.00); 17 th December (GH¢444.00); and 23 rd  December,(GH¢10,600.00). Also, between 3 rd  August, and 18 th  December, an amount of GH¢66,396.22...

By Fred SARPONG The total value of goods and services produced in the first quarter of 2012 was GH¢6,186.7 million, compared to GH¢5,691.5 million recorded in the corresponding period in 2011, according to provisional figures released in Accra last week by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). This represents 8.7% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for the first quarter of 2012, as against 3.3% last year.  The sectors of the economy, which contributed to this growth, were Agriculture, Industry and Services. The acting Deputy Government Statistician, Kofi Agyeman-Duah, who announced this in Accra, last week, said during the period Agriculture recorded a total value of GH¢984.5 million, as compared to GH¢1,014.1 million in first quarter of 2011. This represents negative 2.9%.  The industry sector also had 21.7% growth, recording the value of GH¢1,998.2 million as against GH¢1,642.1 million in 2011 first quarter.  The services recorded 5.7% GDP growth with a value of...

By Fred SARPONG  The Producer Price inflation, which measures the average change over time in the prices received by domestic producers for the production of their goods and services, recorded 18.0% at the end May, 2012. This was announced in Accra by the Acting Deputy Government Statistician in charge of Operation, Kofi Agyeman-Duah. According to a provisional figure, released by the Agyeman-Duah, Ghana’s Producer Price Index (PPI) for May 2012 increased from 15.8% in April 2012 to 18.0% for all industries in May this year. This represents an increase in producer inflation of 2.2 percentage points, relative to the rate in April 2012. The mining and quarrying sector was the major contributor to the overall industry Producer Price inflation 18.0%. Despite the sector recording highest year-on-year inflation of 22.5% in May 2012, it decreased by 1.8 percentage points over the April rate of 24.3%. However, mining and quarrying recorded the monthly rate of negative 0.1% in May 2012. A...

The Bank of Africa Ghana (BOA – Ghana) has donated 50 bags of cement to the Akropong Christ Presbyterian Church towards the completion of the church’s Aged Centre. The Aged Centre, which is being propounded by the Christ Presbyterian Church, would include a sick bay, clinic, leisure centre and other resources, and is expected to be completed by the close of the year. The Head of Marketing and Communications, Kofi Fumey, presenting the items on behalf of Bank of Africa, said the bank was interested in supporting the welfare of the aged and was glad the church was providing a resource centre which would allow them to congregate. He said this was the first time a community was implementing such an initiative and hoped that it would trigger a ripple effect in other communities, since “we will all grow old one day.” He added that there was the need to institute support systems to provide a haven for the aged and that the bank would support such initiatives. Rev.  M.P. Agy...

Mobile Telecommunication Network (MTN), the number one mobile telecom services provider in the country has achieved another distinct milestone in the industry when it recorded 11 million subscribers last week. And to celebrate this, the company has lined up a host of activities to reward its subscribers. The celebration dubbed “Raining 11 on MTN” will reward all 11 million subscribers with freebies across the various services offered by MTN. As part of the celebration, all subscribers will be able to make 11 minutes of free calls over the next two months, while data users will get 50% bonus on all data bundles purchased and 20% discount on pay- as- you -go. Retailers of MTN products and services will also be recognized for activating new subscribers unto the MTN network. Other packages include the giveaway of airtime on selected radio stations across the country. In this offer, the recharge numbers will be mentioned and the fastest finger to load them gets the airtime for ...

In a unique move to fulfill its commitment of supplying its customers with the best innovative products and make life easier for them, Samsung electronics has partnered with Vodafone Ghana to unveil the latest flagship full-size Samsung phone in Ghana, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet. The new Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet, like other Samsung products is based on Google’s Android operating system and is designed around two key features the iPad lacks – a stylus also called the S Pen and several applications that allow the user to use it for note taking and sketching and, the ability to view two programmes at once in a split screen mode. The note’s multi-tasking with multi-screen feature enables users to utilize two different applications side-by-side simultaneously while providing an active learning experience for the user. Its offers a stylus and a split screen as well as a faster and more convenient Smartphone experience for customers. The Galaxy Note 10.1 comes w...

By Fred Sarpong Over more than 17 investor companies have tendered in applications to take over the defunct Intercity State Transport Company (STC) from the government. Business Week  learnt that the investors, who have applied, were from Ghana and other African countries, Europe, Asia and America. Sources at the Ministry of Transport told  Business Week  that some of these investors who have applied to take over STC intend to invest between GH¢70 million and GH¢100 million to revamp the company. However, Divestiture Implementation Committee (DIC) is expected to give final directive to its employer, the government as to how it should offload STC to the successful investor. The company (STC) was the leader in the coach transport businesses in the country, until stiff competition from VIP, M-Plaza, Metro Mass Transport and coach transport operators in the country. The company failed to compete with other operators and this resulted in owing some institution...

Vodafone Ghana, CIMG Telecom Company of the year is offering a 70% discount on current roaming charges for Hajj pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia. The incredible offer from the telecommunications giant allows pilgrims who visit the Saudi Arabian kingdom this Hajj to stay connected to their loved ones and pay less during and after the season. The offer which is on-going till the end of the year is targeted at only prepaid customers. Vodafone’s Hajj offer is currently the only roaming offer in the country that gives 70% discount on roaming charges to the Saudi Arabian kingdom. Its prepaid customers can activate and enjoy the offer by calling the Vodafone call centre or by visiting any retail shop. Tara Squire, Head of Consumer Marketing at Vodafone Ghana explained the rationale behind the introduction of the offer “we want to empower our customers going for this year’s Hajj to stay constantly connected to their families at home without worrying about how much it will cos...

Testament to the brand’s strong global and local presence, coupled with its innovative products and solutions that are changing the consumer electronics industry, Samsung has climbed the ranks in Interbrand’s Best Global Brands Report for 2012, ranking 9 th among the Top 10 brands for the first time in its history. George Ferreira, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Samsung Electronics Africa said; “The market growth witnessed by Samsung over the past year is underpinned by our ability to constantly reinvent our product offerings and our ability to innovate and adapt to the changing needs of the global and African market. Being recognised as one of the Top 10 Best Global Brands is evidence of our success.” Hailed as one of the biggest successes of 2012, marked by an impressive 40% rise in brand value, substantially higher than the industry average of 16%, Samsung have steadily climbed the Interbrand Best Global Brand ranking since 2002, jumping 8 places from 17...

By Kofi AHOVI British Airways is promoting its USA routes to remind its customers, including potential ones, of the unique connections it offers from UK to the USA, as well as other destinations. Passengers from Ghana travelling to the USA or other destinations are treated to a world class service before, on board and after using British Airways flights. British Airways is one of the world's largest international airlines carrying approximately 36 million passengers around the world every year. It operates nine flights a day from New York JFK to London. This includes seven to London Heathrow and two flights to London City on a business class only service. This is in addition to the two daily Newark to London Heathrow flights. Terminal 7 is home to BA’s operations at New York JFK airport as well as other airlines. It spans 535,000 square feet, serving five million departing and arriving passengers per year.   In addition to handling its own flights British Airways also offe...