Business
Ghana Approves 10% Pay Rise For Public Workers
Ghana’s wages commission said on Friday it had approved a 10 per cent pay rise for public sector workers and that the potentially inflationary measure would be back-dated to January this year.
Falling inflation and a stable currency have since late 2009 given the Bank of Ghana scope to make a total 350 basis points of cuts to bring the prime rate down to 15 per cent, with further easing seen dependent on prices staying under control.
George Smith-Graham, chief executive of the Commission, told Reuters the pay rise would apply across the board to Ghana’s 470,000 or so public sector workers and complemented a planned reform of the wages structure later this year.
“They will receive the actual salary reflecting the 10 per cent (rise) in July but the arrears will be paid in the months of August and September,” he said by telephone.
“This is a way of cushioning those public sector workers who may not receive any enhancement under the ‘single spine’ scheme,” he said, referring to the planned new structure.
The so-called Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) is due from July to put all public sector workers on the same pay scale. It is seen as potentially inflationary because many will see their salary bracket revised upwards.
Smith-Graham declined to say how much the pay rise would cost public finances.
Ghana’s government, which is gearing up for the first revenues from its Jubilee oil field later this year, has been praised for bringing inflation to just under 12 per cent.
The Bank of Ghana has brought the prime rate down to 15 per cent in recent months and has said it could envisage cutting interest rates further as long as inflation kept easing.
“This latest news … will raise inflation risks somewhat,” said Standard Chartered regional head of research Razia Khan, noting it could also prompt the government to claw back revenue by cutting utility price subsidies, itself an inflationary move.
Ghana was also due to announce new utility tariffs later on Friday, with increases widely expected, but the announcement was postponed until next week.
Kobla Nyaletey, head of liquidity management at Barclays Ghana Treasury, said he believed the measure was compatible with spending already envisaged by the 2010 budget.
“There are some challenges ahead though, from probable upward (utility) tariff price adjustments and the implementation of the single spine salary structure,” he said.
The pace of inflation fell to 11.66 per cent in April and is seen dipping into single digits in the next few months before an expected rebound in prices later in 2010.
Analysts forecast a further rate cut in June and possibly one more after that.
Bank of Ghana Governor Kwesi Amissah-Arthur told Reuters in a May 14 interview the bank would cut rates further if compatible with the outlook for inflation and growth, which is set to more than double from around six per cent this year.
Business
Food Vendors, Others Relocate To New Site At PH Airport
The raging controversy between the Port Harcourt International Airport Management and restaurants/canteen operators and theirallies over relocation has been brought under control, as the operators have commenced relocation to their structures at the new site.
Recall that there had been serious feud over a directive by the Manager of the airport, Mr. Michael Area, for food vendors and their allies to relocate to the new site.
They insisted that the new site was too distant and hence, would negatively affect patronage from customers, with possible loss.
They further also insisted that it wouldcost them much money to put up another structure, given the economic situation in the country, since the airport management did not build any structure for them, apart from providing the empty land they have to also pay for.
The situation had led to flexing of muscles, which made the Airport Manager to order for sealing of all shops, resulting in scarcity of food, as airport users could not find a place to eat, apart from the only Genesis fast food spot available.
As at last Friday, The Tide observed that most of the food vendors had transferred their structures to the new place, and had started doing business there already.
Meanwhile, customers have started settling down at the new location as they were seen patronising shops for foods and drinks, in spite of the distance.
Few of the remaining structures at the old site, The Tide further gathered, will also be removed as quickly as possible, and the owners are making efforts to get funds for the job to be done.
One of them, Mrs Aka Love explained that she was going to relocate to the new place before the end of March.
Currently, business activities at the old site have come to null, as the place which was usually a beehive of food, drinks and relaxation, has completely winded down.
By: Corlins Walter
Business
MOWCA Strengthens Maritime Crime Prevention
Secretary General of the Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa (MOWCA), Dr. Paul Adalikwu, has stepped up interaction with the United States Government to lift restrictions placed on some member countries allegedly implicated in illicit shipping activities.
Adalikwu, who led a delegation from the MOWCA Secretariat to the US Embassy in Abidjan for a first leg of the strategic consultation aimed at promoting seamless participation of MOWCA countries in international trade within the global maritime space, reiterated the organisation’s commitment to the best ethical and lawful maritime practices.
Addressing the U.S Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire, H.E Mrs Jessica Davis Ba, the MOWCA SG stated the organisation’s interest in promoting the International Ship and Port facility Security (ISPS) code which aims at enhancing security of vessels and their ports of call.
He expressed the commitment of MOWCA in promoting environmentally friendly, safe and cost effective shipping without any encumbrance that may limit the economic potential of member countries.
Dr Adalikwu recalled that at the instance of the U.S. Department of State invitation, MOWCA participated in the 2023 Registry Information Sharing Compact (RISC) Conference in Larnaca, Cyprus, on February 28–March 1, 2023, and a virtual meeting held on June 6 2023, with Mrs Jennifer Chalmers, Officer in change of Counterproliferation Initiative.
He recalled The U.S. DOS willingness to support MOWCA’s effort for preventive maritime security through the establishment of the Center for Information and Communication (CINFOCOM) with the aim to ensure a maritime situational awareness domain within MOWCA’s member states’ waters.
He added that MOWCA under his watch is committed to training and retraining of maritime practitioners and experts to enhance the human capital capabilities of member states.
The CINFOCOM will help prevent transnational crimes committed at sea like sanctions evasion by North Korea and other state actors, who exploit poor enforcement due diligence by ship open registries to circumvent United Nations and U.S. trade restrictions.
By: Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
Business
Nigeria’s Public Debt Hits N97.3trn – DMO
The Debt Management Office (DMO) has hinted that Nigeria’s public debt increased by 10.7 per cent from N87.87 trillion in the third quarter of last year, to N97.34 trillion as at December 31, 2023.
DMO, in an update data released last Friday, said the increase in the debt stock was largely due to new domestic borrowing by the Federal Government to part finance the deficit in the 2024 Appropriation Act and disbursements by multilateral and bilateral lenders.
The office noted that the N97.3 trillion public debt comprises of domestic debt of N59.12 trillion and external debt of N38.22 trillion. The sum of $3.5 billion was used to service external debt during the review period.
“Nigeria’s Public Debt Stock as at December 31, 2023 was N97.34trillion or $108.229 billion. This amount comprises the domestic and external debt stocks of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), the 36 States Governments, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“There was an increase of N9.43 trillion over the comparative figure for September, 2023, which was largely due to new domestic borrowing by the FGN to part finance the deficit in the 2024 Appropriation Act and disbursements by multilateral and bilateral lenders.
“At N59.12 trillion, total domestic debt accounted for 61 percent of the total public debt stock, while external debt at N38.22 trillion accounted for the balance of 39 percent.
“Consistent with the debt management strategy, Nigeria’s external debt stock was skewed in favour of loans from multilateral (49.77 percent) and bilateral lenders (14.02 percent) or total of 63.79 percent which are mostly concessional and semi-concessional.
“Whilst the DMO continues to employ best practice in public debt management, the recent and on-going efforts of the fiscal authorities to shore up revenue will support debt sustainability”, DMO stated.
By: Corlins Walter
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