Author: Chris Kodo

The Komenda Sugar Factory has started processing unrefined sugar after several years of non-operation.

A video that has gone viral shows that the facility has started full operation after several after years of non-operation.

The management of the facility said the measure is to get the factory functioning and produce sugar at a cheaper cost.

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen Alan Kyerematen signs book of condolence for Bernard Avle’s wifesaid other works had either been completed or were at the final stages of completion.

He named the works to include the installation of a new pipeline to and from the plant to the molasses tank, and refractories. There is also lagging work in the boiler furnace and chimneys, which is fully completed.

Another was the completion of the vacuum and water testing facility at the boiler house, which had started working, with steam pressure testing ongoing for the turbine to generate three megawatts (MW) of electricity, the minister added.

Background

The Komenda Sugar Factory was built at a cost of $35 million from an Indian EXIM Bank facility.

It was inaugurated by then-President John Mahama in May 2016 but stopped operations not long after.

The factory was expected to employ 7,300 people along the value chain, boosting employment prospects in the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirem municipality.

President Akufo-Addo had given indications that the Komenda Sugar Factory would be fully operationalised in April 2022.

At the time, he said there were some civil works ongoing at the factory site, and that by the end of March 2022, all those activities would be completed to pave way for production.

A Ghanaian-Indian company, Park Agrotech Ghana Limited, is the new investor who will take over the operations of the factory.

The government 2019 said the company was expected to inject $28 million into the factory between 2020 and 2023.

$11 million was to go into sugarcane cultivation; $6 million to upgrade plant and machinery, and $11 million as working capital to bring the ailing factory back on its feet.

Source: Ghanaweb

The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) has announced its decision to roll out a mandatory vehicle towing system, effective October 2022.

Chairman of GPRTU Mohammed Abass told Nyanakontotn Mu Nsem on Rainbow Radio 87.5Fm that the towing system is to ensure the quick removal of faulty vehicles from roads.

He noted that Taxis would pay, GH¢50; “Trotros”, GH¢80; long buses, GH¢300; and foreign trucks, GH¢1000.

The new towing system is in partnership with the Road Safety Management Service LimitedGhana begins installation of e-visa system at missions abroad (RSMSL).

The contractual agreement between the GPRTU and RSMSL, he explained requires vehicle owners to pay annual subscription fees depending on the type of vehicle.

He explained that when the system was first introduced, authorities wanted to impose it on them, but after deliberations, it was suspended, and the system, was refined, and stakeholders agreed on the modalities through a PPP agreement.

He indicated that drivers will have to subscribe to an online application that has been developed to effectively deliver the service.

He concluded that the system is subject to parliamentary approval before the implementation can begin.

Source: Ghanaweb

Dr. Hafiz Bin Salih, the Upper West Regional Minister has appealed to the Passion Air Company to consider re-opening its daily flights between Wa and Kumasi to enhance business activities.

He said traders in the region considered Kumasi as a business hub and therefore daily flights would help boost commercial transactions of the two regions.

Dr. Bin Salih made the appeal when Mr. Edward Annan-Accantable, Manager of Passion Air Company and other officials paid a courtesy call to him on Wednesday.

The Regional Minister also pleaded with Passion Air, which was airlifting Travellers from Accra-Wa daily to   double its flights on Fridays and Sundays.

This, he said, would facilitate the movement of people who come home to attend funerals and other activities during the weekends and to return to Accra to perform their business.

Dr. Bin Salih urged the company to float its shares, as many business-minded people in the region were prepared and willing to buy the shares if the Company deemed it fit.

He said the operations of Passion Air had always been his priority to boost the air transport business in the region and “it is my prayer to see its transactions flourish because I consider it as one of my achievements for the people of the region.”

Mr Annan-Accantable said he was in the region to familiarise with the operations of the Company and to also know the workers and encourage them to deliver quality services to the people.

He encouraged Dr. Bin Salih not to rest on his oars while he was alive on earth, but to do his best for the people he was mandated to serve.

He appealed to the people in the region to endeavour to patronise its services to boost business transactions to enhance incomes and livelihoods.

Mr Samuel Ato Hagan, the Upper West Regional Manager of Passion Air Company, said patronage of the flight was encouraging and promised to make available the services of the Passion Air to the people.

Source: Ghanaweb

The surge in airfares has been attributed to the rising cost of aviation fuel, cedi depreciation

The cost of travelling from the capital Accra to Kumasi in the Ashanti Region by air has crossed the GH¢600 mark, the highest one-way fare recorded on the route, Aviation Ghana reports.

For several weeks now, an Accra-Kumasi one-way ticket on Africa World Airlines (AWA) and PassionAir has crossed the GHC600 mark, with about GH¢ 1,200 required to make an Accra-Kumasi-Accra round trip.

On the Accra-Tamale-Accra and Accra-Takoradi-Accra routes, passengers now require close to GH¢ 1,400 to make a round trip from Accra to the two cities.

The surge in airfares has been attributed to the rising cost of aviation fuel on the international market, the depreciation of the local currency against the US dollar—which is the main currency used by airlines for the purchasing of spare parts and others—and the limited number of domestic airline operators.

In Ghana, which imports all of its aviation fuel despite being an oil-producing nation in Africa, jet fuel is selling for about US$1.2 per liter, reflecting the cost of the commodity on the international market.

Jet fuel price average for 2022 (year to date) is $143.4/bbl, according to data published by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

On the international market, jet fuel prices ended last week up 3.4% at $143.0/bbl.

Source: Ghanaweb

Energy bills for a typical household could hit £4,266 next year, consultancy Cornwall Insight has warned.Energy bills: Charities warn people against not paying

The higher estimate means the average household would be paying £355 a month, instead of £164 a month currently.

Cornwall cited regulator Ofgem’s decision to change the price cap every three months instead of six and higher wholesale prices for its high forecast.

But Ofgem said no forecast for next year could be “robust” at this stage and had “limited value”.

Cornwall expects this to rise to £3,582 a year, compared to the regulator’s prediction of £2,800 a year.

Dr Craig Lowrey, principal consultant at Cornwall, said its price cap forecasts had been steadily rising but the big jump was “a fresh shock”.

The energy bill warning comes as the government rejected calls for further help on energy bills until a new prime minister was in place.

The CBI business lobby group said it “made no sense to wait” for a new Conservative party leader.

Regulator Ofgem warned wholesale prices were moving so quickly that future forecasts were not reliable.

“We cannot stop others from making predictions, but we would ask that extreme caution is applied to any predictions for the price cap in January or beyond.”

Earlier this month, the government announced how households in England, Scotland and Wales will receive £400 to help with rising fuel bills this autumn, with the money paid in six instalments.

But Dr Lowrey called on the government to use the latest predictions of higher bills to review the support package.

“If the £400 was not enough to make a dent in the impact of our previous forecast, it most certainly is not enough now.

“The government must make introducing more support over the first two quarters of 2023 a number-one priority.”

Hannah Absalom, a PHD student in Birmingham, lives on £850 per month in a one-bed flat and has spent £80 already on thermal clothing and a heated blanket so she can avoid heating her home in winter.

“I’m doing everything I can but there’s not enough support. I’ll more than likely end up in debt, or eat into my buffer savings – saved for getting a job,” she says.

Supermarket head office worker Stuart Lane, 47, who lives in Buckinghamshire with his wife and their three children, currently pays £100 a month for a fixed price deal. but that ends in September.

“When I looked at getting a new deal, the only fixed prices was pushing up to £420. We will be having to look at our outgoings,” he says.

Sylvia Simpson, chief executive at debt help charity Money Buddies in Leeds, told the BBC there were limited options for helping people with soaring energy bills: “The tools that we used to have before, for example, for switching utility providers to get the best deal – that has gone now. There is no switching to get the best deal anymore.

“People are really, really struggling.”

Conservative leadership candidate Rishi Sunak has said he would provide more money to help people with their energy bills, if he becomes prime minister.

His rival for the leadership, Liz Truss, has pledged tax cuts to help people hit by cost of living increases.

But Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has suggested that the government should scrap the energy price cap rise in October, which he said would save the typical household £1,400 this year.

Mr Davey said the cost of the plan – which the party puts at nearly £36bn – could be funded through backdating the windfall tax on oil and gas companies’ profits.

Dr Lowry said that without the more frequent changes to the price cap, more energy suppliers might be in danger of collapse – though he questioned whether it should exist at all.

“If it is not controlling consumer prices, and is damaging suppliers’ business models, we must wonder if it is fit for purpose – especially in these times of unprecedented energy market conditions,” he said.

However, if wholesale prices remain at current rates, it expects lower bills in the second half of next year than it had previously forecast.

The energy price cap sets a limit on the amount that can be paid for each unit of energy. It is based on the price energy suppliers pay producers for electricity and gas.

This has risen sharply, fuelled by the war in Ukraine which has threatened supplies from Russia.

Many families are already facing soaring costs, with UK inflation – the rate at which prices are rising – at the highest in 40 years.

The Don’t Pay group, which is demanding bills be reduced to to an affordable level, says tens of thousands of people have pledged to cancel their direct debit payments from 1 October.

However, charities have said not paying energy bills has very serious consequences for consumers, including being threatened with disconnection and damage to their credit rating.

The warning comes as the government dismissed reports of disruption to energy supplies, following reports that plans for a “reasonable worst case scenario” included organised blackouts for firms and households.

A source told the BBC that such scenarios are “made up” and “extreme” so that the government’s response can be tested.

Predictions of January energy bills were already sending shivers down spines, as the wholesale prices suppliers have to pay spiked due a fear of Russia withholding gas supplies.

But it’s partly a technical tweak that’s caused those estimates to jump by another 10% in just a few days.

At present, suppliers are often having to buy energy at a higher price to meet the needs of customers. But those customers, under the cap, may be paying a lower tariff.

The regulator, under new plans, is allowing suppliers to recoup those extra costs from customers over the space of six months, a shorter period than previously thought.

It’s not just about protecting profits; 28 suppliers have already folded in the last couple of years, leaving customers to pick up a tab £2.7bn, nearly £100 per household, due to their failures. On top of that, over £1bn of taxpayer funds are expected to be needed to deal with the largest collapse, that of Bulb.

The idea is to protect customers from the cost of future failures. But in the short term, it could mean devastating choices in the depths of winter.

And the extra help currently on offer from both Tory leadership hopefuls is unlikely to offset even the increase in the estimate unveiled today.

Source: BBC

Prices in the US continued to rise rapidly last month, but a fall in petrol costs helped to ease the pace.

The annual inflation rate, the pace at which prices rise, was 8.5% in July, down from June when it surged to 9.1%, the Labor Department said.

Aside from energy, costs for many items, including groceries and housing, continued to climb.

The higher costs have left many families struggling and had a significant impact on the economy.

Jobs growth remains strong, but other indicators, like consumer and business sentiment, have been hit by worries about rising prices, which are climbing faster than they have since the early 1980s.

Over the last 12 months, prices for groceries in the US have jumped 13.1%, the largest annual increase since 1979. Rising coffee prices helped push those costs higher in July, surging 3.5% just since June.

Prices for housing, medical care and recreation were also up from June, but the gains were offset by declines for items such as used cars, airfares and clothing.

Petrol prices fell by 7.7% compared with June, when prices at the pump had hit a record high of more than $5 per gallon on average.

Overall the report was better than many analysts had expected.

“This is not yet the meaningful decline in inflation [the US central bank] is looking for. But it’s a start and we expect to see broader signs of easing price pressures over the next few months,” said Paul Ashworth, chief US economist at Capital Economics.

Prices in the US have been rising rapidly since last year, driven higher by a mix of forces, including strong demand from consumers, whose spending was supported by Covid-19 cheques from the government.

At the same time, pandemic-related shutdowns in China, the war in Ukraine and other issues have strained supplies of goods, including necessities such as oil and wheat.

As food prices jump, Aquinnah Rank says she has started buying less expensive store brand versions of items like cereal and is buying fewer non-essentials, like cookies.

While the drop in gasoline prices has provided some relief, the 21-year-old student from Massachusetts, who is working this summer in a restaurant, is concerned about finding a job when she graduates from university in May that will pay enough to cover the fast-climbing cost of groceries and rent.

“Salaries aren’t necessarily going up as fast, so that’s definitely a worry,” she says.

The US central bank has been raising interest rates since March to try to stabilise prices.

Increasing interest rates is one way to try to control inflation as it makes borrowing more expensive and should encourage people to borrow and spend less, reducing the demand driving up prices.

But because higher interest rates reduce economic activity, the bank risks tipping the economy into a prolonged downturn, or recession. Last month, the US Commerce Department reported that the economy shrank in the April-June period, the second quarter in a row of decline.

Expectations of slowdown in the US and abroad are part of the reason why oil prices have fallen in recent weeks, in turn leading to lower gasoline costs for consumers.

Silvia Dall’Angelo, senior economist at Federated Hermes, said she expected demand to cool further in coming months, as the bank’s rate hikes took hold and continued high prices prompted consumers to reduce their spending.

“This, together with stabilisation in energy prices and a gradual easing of global supply constraints, should drive inflation down more quickly over the course of next year,” she said.

But she added: “While the Fed will draw some comfort from today’s inflation report, the fight against high inflation is far from over.”

Source: BBC