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The Ghanaian government has reached an agreement with the United States energy giants, General Electricals worth $1 billion for the supply of energy to the country. Ghana is currently in energy crisis despite becoming an oil and gas producing country since 2010 Cameroon Concord has learnt. The country is set to lose some $700 million oil revenue this year as a result of the falling price of crude on the world market.  Ghana makes an average of $1.2 billion annually from crude oil production but the fallen price of the commodity on the world market has brought the expected revenue down to $500 million.

The American multinational conglomerate corporation is expected to generate some 1000 megawatt of energy for Ghana with a gas powered thermal plant. The project is expected to be completed over the next three years. The first phase of the agreement will add 300 megawatts of electricity to the existing national grid by 2016 while the remaining 700 megawatts will be added in early 2018. At the signing ceremony in Accra on Wednesday, Ghana’s President, John Dramani Mahama said the project when completed will make Ghana the most efficient producer and distributor of energy in Africa.

“Even though we call it Ghana 1000, the power will be a bit above 1000, this will be the single largest injection of power into our transmission grid in history, it will be bigger than total power from the Akosombo hydro-electric power plant”, he said. The Akosombo hydro electric dam was built by Ghana’s first President, Kwame Nkrumah in 1964 but successive Ghanaian governments have failed woefully to build upon it, culminating in the current energy crisis in the country.

In the capital Accra, residents enjoy electricity for 12 hours each day but in the second largest city of Kumasi, residents barely have electricity up to 6 hours a day. Energy experts have criticized the government for failing to deal with the energy situation and many political commentators say the energy crisis would be a crucial determinant if Ghanaians will or not retain the government in next year’s elections. Ghana will vote in general elections in December 2016.

 

 

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Ngwa Bertrand

29.Jan.2015

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Ghana’s President, John Dramani Mahama has said that the country will lose some $700 million oil revenue this year as a result of the falling price of crude on the world market. The Ghanaian President revealed this when he addressed the Ghanaian community in Germany about the state of Ghana’s economy. Mr. Mahama has been in Germany since Monday for a state visit. He explained that the country needs to move away from being a primary producer to manufacturing to be able to add value to its export to avoid suffering from events on the world market.

"The economic challenges we are facing came out of the 2011 era when revenue from our primary produce  cocoa dropped, and we have been depending on oil revenue to help our budget, we need to build manufacturing economy to avoid these setbacks on the world market", he said. Crude oil on the world market has fallen to a record low of around $47 dollars and this is expected to affect the economies of the oil exporting countries especially those in the developing countries. Ghana makes an average of $1.2 billion annually from crude oil production but the fallen price of the commodity on the world market has brought the expected revenue down to $500 million.

Last year, Ghana’s economy was hardly hit. It currency depreciated against the major trading currencies which brought high rise in goods and services (inflation). This compelled the government to ask the International Monetary Fund for help. Ghana discovered its offshore oil and gas Jubilee Field in 2007 and started pumping oil in 2010. Since then, oil has been produced in commercial quantities, and over the next 20 years it is projected that Ghana could earn up to $20 billion in export revenue. It is expected that this will present an opportunity for the growth of the country’s economy. But the story has not been good since the discovering of the commodity. The country is currently facing electricity problems despite the abundant natural gas it could make use of from the oil sector.

 

 

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Ngwa Bertrand

23.Jan.2015

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When Apostle Dr Kwadwo Safo, owner of the Kantanka Group of Companies displayed his talents on technological skills he had acquired mystically some ten years back, a lot of Ghanaians were skeptical about the authenticity of his inventions. Among the many technological gadgets Dr Safo displayed then was a television set that comes on after just a simple clap or by blowing air.  He did not hide it. He said he never had a sophisticated technical or technological education. He only dreams and creates whatever he builds, implying that he is being taught by superhuman beings in the world beyond our knowledge. When asked by a BBC journalist in 2010 why he chose to manufacture items that require strange human application before it could function, he replied "I do it because I can, I go to bed and dream about the innovation then write it down. My workers then make it. They are learning the skills they can use somewhere else."

This triggered some Ghanaian University professors to discredit him, arguing that his inventions lack scientific basis and should be ignored by the public. But notwithstanding these criticisms, he has proved a point. This year, he will begin a commercial sale of one of his important inventions-cars. These are not ordinary cars we see around which run on engines with fuel. These cars are engineless. It is unprecedented in the world of automobiles. It is quite difficult to get Dr Safo himself for an interview nowadays. Sources close to him say he fears being kidnap and clowned by the whites who are envious of his inventions. So, he is under heavy private security protection he has contracted himself. His son, Kwadwo Safo Jnr who now acts as the company’s chief operating officer is now in charge of all media inquiries. He explained that the cars run on rechargeable batteries.

"The non-engine vehicle does not rely on a combustion engine to move. It is an electric motor powered by rechargeable batteries; the batteries can be recharged with solar energy or electricity. As you drive the car on the road, it converts the energy from the sun into mechanical energy which powers the car’’, he said. To give you detailed information on the car which is about to be sold on the Ghanaian market, there are two charging systems for the car-an external charging system and an internal charging system. The internal charging system uses an extra accumulator to power an invertor and the invertor simultaneously charges the 12 batteries while the car is accelerating. The internal charging is manual and can be switched on or off when the car is in motion. The external charging system uses 144V which makes it suitable for the world market. The charging modes are Quick Charge Mode and an Overnight Charge Mode. The Quick Charge Mode takes a maximum of 15 minutes to complete the charging and the Overnight Charge Mode takes a maximum of three hours to complete the charging. The life span of the accumulators is estimated to be a year. Thus, it is far economical than any vehicle on the market.

                    

                   Profile of Apostle Dr Kwadwo Safo by Cameroon Concord

Apostle Dr Kwadwo Safo was born on 26th August 1948 at Bekwai, a town in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. As a child, it is said he had a deep passion for science and technology. And after closing from school, he would quickly do his home work and rush to the farm to get sticks for designing cars, helicopters, planes, etc. He designed toys machines and cars that had never been seen in the town. After just basic school, he attended technical school for 3 years and thereafter had an employment at Ghana’s Volta Aluminum Company in the port city of Tema. It is in this company that he claimed he received a divine call from God and thereafter left his job to start a church called Kristo Asafo (Christ reformed Church).

This happened in 1971. But after establishing the church for some time, according to him, God told him he will use him to redeem Africa from poverty and total independence from the western world. He has stated times without number in his documentary video showing his invention that ``civilization started from Africa but currently, Africa is lagging behind in technology and so many things. Africa is seen by some as a continent of darkness and it’s been associated with inferiority, my mission is to redeem Africa”. His inventions include automobiles, military equipments, electrical gadgets, medicines, aeronautics amongst others.  He has a Honorary Doctor of Law Degree from the University of Ghana and has also been honored as the Order of the Volta (Member Division) in 2007 by the Ghanaian government.

But Dr. Safo still insists that the Ghanaian government is not doing enough to help him expand his inventions. Many people who admire his inventions have warned that Ghana will regret if the country fail to make meaningful gains from his skills and knowledge before he passes on to eternity. He has quite a number of apprentices who are leaning from him but the fact still remains that more still need to be done.

 

 

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Ngwa Bertrand

21.Jan.2015

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President Biya has ordered construction work to begin in the coming months of a second deep sea port in Limbe, Cameroon Concord has gathered from reliable government sources in Yaoundé the nation’s capital. Our source hinted that after the Kribi port project in the South of the country, the government wants to endow Cameroon with a second deepwater port. It will be located 20 kilometres from the district of Limbe, Fako division, South West region of the country.

A reliable but very flippant source at the Ministry of Economy and Regional Planning told our chief economic reporter that the total cost of financing the Limbe port project is estimated at 602 million US dollars.  A Confirmation of the launch in the coming months of construction work at the Limbe port was made on January 15 in Yaoundé following proposals from Cameroon’s Korean partners that the Korean government is ready to begin construction of a multifunctional floating pier capable of accommodating ships of 20,000 tons at an estimated cost of US $ 35 million.

The Limbe port project has received proper consideration from Cameroon government officials following findings that the Douala port often faces water logging and silting.  The project is expected to create 20,000 direct and indirect jobs. According to other sources, the payment of compensation to the affected population will be in the coming days. The project is integral with the Cameroon Development Vision 2035, which aims to make the country a hub port in the sub-region and the first industrial and modern area of free trade in West Africa.

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Ngwa Bertrand

18.Jan.2015

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Following the first appearance of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Lazare Essimi Menye at the special criminal court on Tuesday the 13^th of January 2015, Cameroon Concord has gathered that thirty Cameroonian investors received loans valued at several hundred millions without refund- among them some with international partners. The special criminal court developed curiosity on why Alamine Ousmane Mey, the current Minister of Finance did not pursue the securitization undertaken by his predecessor Lazare Essimi Menye between the state of Cameroon and Cameroon Atlantic Bank.

Cameroon Atlantic Bank was engaged in the restructuring process of Amity Bank Cameroon PLC in a Memorandum of Understanding in Douala on the 10th of January 2008, approved by Ministerial Order 0000043 / Minfi of 19 September 2008, after due notice of the Banking Commission of Central Africa (COBAC). In this case Minister Lazare Essimi Menye is the only one to have been heard by investigators at the special criminal court. The matter that promises twists and spreads has already rocked the Cameroonian business community in Douala as many prominent businessmen are suspected of being involved in the case of 9 billion Fcfa in Amity Bank.

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Ngwa Bertrand

17.Jan.2015

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According to the Cameroonian Minister of Employment and Professional Training, Zacharie Perevet, 350,000 jobs will be created in that country in 2015. Specifically, the government is discussing a major contribution to primary, secondary and tertiary sectors which are expected to gain approximately 200,000 new jobs.

At the same time, 60,000 jobs are projected within the framework of financed projects in the public investment budget. This totals the investment at 1.15 trillion FCFA this year with 50,000 government jobs. Another 40,000 jobs are also expected via major on-going projects.

In 2014, the Cameroonian government had announced the creation of 250,000 jobs. According to Head of State, Paul Biya in his December 31, 2014 address to the nation, this target has been surpassed by 30,500 jobs as a total of 283,443 jobs were created in 2014.

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Ngwa Bertrand

17.Jan.2015

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