Ghana’s delegation to the 18th Special Meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas [ICAAT] has returned home with tons of commendation for the country’s expeditious handling of the compliance concerns raised at its last meeting in 2011. The commendation jointly made by the Chairman of the Compliance Committee of ICCAT Secretariat, Mr. Chris Rogers and the EU Compliance Director General, Mr. Auronne Spezzani earlier at the DG Mare office in Brussels were confirmed at the meeting attended by all its tuna producing countries held in Agadir, Morocco from November 12 to 19, 2012. Present were the EU member states, USA, Canada, South American countries such as Brazil and African member states, namely Morocco, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal and South Africa. The  delegation the largest ever to such a meeting was led by  Mike Akyeampong, Chairman of the Fisheries Commission and included Mr. Samuel Quaatey, Head Delegate as well as representatives of Ghana Tuna Association [GTA] and Boat Owners. The various issues addressed at the 18th ICCAT Special Meeting included the introduction of a Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) which will track the movements / locations of all the tuna vessels over 20m long, which are commercially involved in industrial tuna fishing, whether or not they are entering other EEZs which they do not have a fishing license agreement; the banning of transshipment at sea; the implementation of a ‘payback’ system for over-harvesting on Big Eye Tuna; improvement on data quality and its reporting; and good traceability work being done by Pioneer Food Cannery (PFC) Limited. Ghana was  commended for not only paving the way as the leading Contract Party Country (CPC) in West Africa but also in the entire African Continent when it comes to its commitment, management and compliance of tropical tunas in its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Ghana’s initiation of the process on fleet capacity in accordance with Recommendation 01-04 and better data reporting and timely reporting was also recognized and commended. Mr. Quaatey, the Ghana Head Delegate in his submission said, besides Ghana’s positive balance of dues payment to ICCAT, she has generally also shown good traceability of work; and intimated that the effort of Ghana to redeem its previous image was noticeable and acclaimed at the conference saying, ‘this is his best year ever since leading Ghana to various ICAAT meetings’. He said countries belonging to the Atlantic African Tuna Producing Countries [ATLAFCO] during the meeting also held a special session with its Executive Chairman who in turn also congratulated Ghana for the concerted effort done so far to reach its current position. ATLAFCO he noted has also  Kwesi Ahwoi, the Minister of Food and Agriculture as chairman with his offices in Rabat, Morocco. Mr. Spezzani, the EU Compliance Director General on his part recounted his visit to Ghana in July this year and further thanked Mr  Ahwoi for his wonderful reception and fruitful deliberations on compliance, which no doubt have contributed to the nation’s current status and acclamation. Mr. Nichol Elizabeth, General Manager of Pioneer Food Cannery [PFC] who was a member of the delegation on his part said; ‘Ghana is on a good path as the leading CPC and can build further on this current success’.         Kwesi Ahwoi flanked by with Messrs. Chris Rodgers and Auronne Spezzani, with Chairman of Ghana Tuns Association Chairman, Tackie (right) and Director, Fisheries Commission, Samuel Quaatey.

By Juliet AGUIAR, Amenano SABRE Charitable Trust in collaboration with Tullow Ghana is constructing a three-classroom block for Amenano (a fishing community) in the Shama District of the Western Region. Initiated by SABRE Charitable Trust with funds from Tullow, it   is expected to  be completed within 10 months at a total cost of  US$162,000 . The project, which is a sustainable kindergarten complex will employ a number of community members as well as use locally available materials such as bamboo, palm kernel, coconut fibre among others. Elijah Boye-Ampah, an officer from Tullow in-charge of the project at the sod cutting ceremony for the commencement of Amenano Sustainable Kindergarten Complex pointed out that the company funded the project since education is their priority in the communities in which it operates. “The fishing community of Amenano currently does not have a kindergarten school - -the nearest KG is approximately two kilometers away from the village, which is too far a distance for a four and five year old children to walk each day” he said. He said the kindergarten will be managed by the Ghana Education Service and it is expected that about 120 children from Amenano community will benefit from kindergarten. Mr. Dominic Bond, the Programme Director of SABRE Charitable Trust said the project will have a significant impact on the community - - we will train as well as monitor the teachers who will be posted to the school. He said the Ghana Education Service in the district will be a responsible for the management of the school and urged the community to support the project. “Education is very important - - by getting the children to the kindergarten, it will encourage them to stay in school and enhance their knowledge”, he said. Mr. Enoch Cudjoe, the Shama District Chief Executive complained about the lackadaisical attitude of the community towards education and entreated parents in the community to take the education of their children seriously. He said the assembly, will support with a three-unit classroom block within two years when the school is in full operation. He expressed gratitude to SABRE Charitable Trust for their initiative as well as Tullow Ghana for funding the project and urged companies within the catchment area to support the community in terms of education.

  By Basiru ADAM The Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) Mohammed Amin Adam has called for the establishment of a fund which the country could fall on to clean up the mess in the event of an oil spillage. The country, he told the B&FT, does not currently have the capacity to respond adequately to oil spillages should they occur, hence the need for an Oil Spill Fund. Until the newly crafted Petroleum Exploration and Production Bill is passed into law, PNDC Law 84, which is largely deemed to be limited in scope, governs the industry. Although the existing law upholds the Polluter Pays Principle, which means that the party that spills pays, the payment is not effected until it is proven that the said party acted in a grossly negligent manner. Thus, if an oil company is alleged to have caused a spillage, the country’s authorities would have to establish beyond doubt that indeed, the spillage happened as a result of gross negligence by the company before any charges against the company would hold. If the authorities are unable to establish this, then the nation would have to bear the cost of the clean-up. In the first place, the country does not have the capacity to determine whether an oil spillage occurred as a result of gross negligence on the part of a company and so will have difficulties in charging companies, Mohammed Amin said. “Our law says that when you spill you have a responsibility to clean. But it also says that if you don’t clean up to the standard the state can do the remedial works and surcharge you; and I am saying that involves some negotiation. When there is a problem and you are now going to negotiate it is costly. So if you have a spill fund when there is any spillage you just fall on the money and then do the cleaning,” he said. Oil spillages may not have become a major issue in Ghana, but the country, even in its relatively short period of oil exploration, has had some issues. In the latter part of 2009, even before the country poured first oil, Kosmos Energy, one of the development partners in the Jubilee Fields, spilled over 700 barrels of a substance suspected to be a mixture of oil and mud. This later resulted in a protracted banter when government asked the company to pay a fine of US35 million. Tullow oil, another of the partners, also spilled some 37 litres of oil in January 2010, as a result of a breakage in their link pipes, which was reported to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Kosmos refused to pay up, saying the fine was “totally unlawful, unconstitutional, ultra vires and without basis.” Clause 38 of the Petroleum Revenue Management Bill under consideration deals with health, safety and environment and makes a contractor or subcontractor responsible for any pollution or damage caused by an oil spill. The Minister or the Authority will recover costs and expenses for cleanup from the contractor or subcontractor.   

The Whitaker Group has been named “Company of the Year” by the African Diaspora Association at Applause Africa’s Second Annual African Diaspora Awards ceremony in New York . The awards were hosted by Nigerian Actress Ebbe Bassey and South African radio personality Sduduzo Ka-Mbili, and included a keynote address by Amini Kajunju, President and CEO of the Africa-America Institute. The objective of the African Diaspora Awards is to identify and celebrate notable and exemplary individuals of African descent who have contributed to the advancement of Africans in the Diaspora and Africa as a whole. The Whitaker Group (TWG), founded by former Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Rosa Whitaker, is a global consulting firm advancing trade, investment and enterprise solutions in Africa. With offices in Washington, DC, and Accra, Ghana, the Whitaker Group has brought more than $2 billion in investments and capital flows to the African continent and is the consultancy of choice for Fortune 500 companies operating in the region. Mr. Anthony Annan, Executive Vice President of the Whitaker Group, received the award on behalf of the company at the African Diaspora Awards ceremony on Saturday. In receiving the “Company of the Year” award, Mr. Annan closed with a word of inspiration: “We must remember that as Africa’s rises, it rises with a purpose, with a reason: to uplift but also to uphold. Our growth must be on our own terms. It is up to this audience: the future entrepreneurs, scholars and activists to make that a reality.” The African Diaspora Awards ceremony is sponsored by Applause Africa, a quarterly lifestyle magazine publication that focuses on the people, cultures, and successes of Africa’s Diaspora.