Ghana to Set up a ICC Hearing Centre

Ghana must set up a Hearing Centre to enable corporate bodies use International Chamber of Commerce (ICC’s) mediation and arbitration rules in their contracts to position the country as a genuine place for arbitration. This will no doubt save cost as it follows best practice for most business in most countries. 

“The Chief Justice must help Ghana to set up a hearing center in Ghana, such that Ghanaian corporate bodies would be encourage to use the  ICC mediation and arbitration rules and clause in their contracts and also insist on Ghana as a genuine place for arbitration, helping save cost; since  currently most cases are held overseas, the state and businesses spend so much in getting their cases heard overseas,” Chairman of ICC- Ghana, Alhaji Asuma Banda told Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood in Accra.

Alhaji Banda made this recommendation when the National Committee of the ICC- Ghana paid a working visit to the Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood.

The visit was aimed at informing her of some of the programmes that ICC-Ghana is working on to help train lawyers and judges in the area of dispute resolution. It was also to wish her well as she marks seven years in office.

Alhaji Banda explained that the motivation for setting up of a court of arbitration in the country came as a result of the numerous judgment debt awards being accrued by the state as a result of lack of adequate training of state attorneys and lack of information particularly in cases where Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) avenues could have been employed.

He therefore made an official request to the Chief Justice to recommend some retired Ghanaian judges and lawyers of reputable status to represent Ghana at the International Court of Arbitration, since that is one of the mandates of ICC- Ghana.

The Chief Justice said the intentions wouldn’t have come at a better time, especially with the numerous cases currently in the commercial courts which she believes are not necessary particularly with the passing of the ADR Act which encourages parties to go for arbitration.

She added that the issues has always boiled down to credibility, because this avenues are normally sought when parties are confident that the case would be handled genuinely and judgment would be fare.

“The ICC- Ghana should come out with a proposal stating the terms of reference of what ICC-Ghana wants to do.

“A committee must also be set up made up representative of ICC, the bench and the bar to ensure that training of lawyers to serve as arbitrators would be transparent,” Chief Justice Wood recommended.
Presently, Ghana has two lawyers serving at the International court of Arbitration namely lawyers Felix Ntrakwah and Ace Ankomah, of which the Chief Justice was pleased to hear, since in her view these were lawyers of high repute.

ICC- Ghana with support from the world body ICC would be running training programmes since ICC arbitration is often used by states and state entities. Approximately 10 percent of ICC arbitrations involve a state or a state entity.

ICC arbitration is chosen for disputes involving states or state entities in all parts of the world, although there is a concentration of cases from Sub-Saharan Africa, Central and West Asia, Central and Eastern Europe.
Cases among these regions account for about 80 percent of ICC arbitrations involving states and state entities which includes cases covering both commercial and investment disputes.

Claims arising out of commercial contracts constitute the largest category of cases and most frequent kinds are those relating to construction, maintenance and the operation of facilities or systems.

Ford and Heinz collaborate on Sustainable Materials for Vehicles

Ford and Heinz

Ford and H.J. Heinz Company have explored the use of tomato fibre to develop a more sustainable bioplastic material for vehicles.

Researchers at Ford and Heinz are investigating the use of tomato fibre in developing sustainable, composite materials for use in vehicle manufacturing.

Specifically, dried tomato skins could become the wiring brackets in a Ford vehicle or the storage bin a Ford customer uses to hold coins and other small objects.

“We are exploring whether this food processing byproduct makes sense for an automotive application,” said Ellen Lee, plastics research technical specialist for Ford. “Our goal is to develop a strong, lightweight material that meets our vehicle requirements, while at the same time reducing our overall environmental impact.”

About two years ago, Ford began collaborating with Heinz, The Coca-Cola Company, Nike Inc. and Procter & Gamble to accelerate development of a 100 percent plant-based plastic to be used to make everything from fabric to packaging and with a lower environmental impact than petroleum-based packaging materials currently in use.

Researchers at Heinz ,were looking for innovative ways to recycle and repurpose peels, stems and seeds from the more than two million tons of tomatoes the company uses annually to produce its best-selling product: Heinz Ketchup. Leaders at Heinz then turned to Ford.

“We are delighted that the technology has been validated,” said Vidhu Nagpal, associate director, packaging R&D for Heinz. “Although we are in the very early stages of research, and many questions remain, we are excited about the possibilities this could produce for both Heinz and Ford, and the advancement of sustainable 100% plant-based plastics.”

Ford’s commitment to reduce, reuse and recycle is part of the company’s global sustainability strategy to lessen its environmental footprint while accelerating development of fuel-efficient vehicle technology worldwide.

Ford has increased its use of recycled non-metal and bio-based materials in recent years. With cellulose fibre-reinforced console components and rice hull-filled electrical cowl brackets introduced in the last year, Ford’s bio-based portfolio now includes eight materials in production.

Other products are coconut-based composite materials, recycled cotton material for carpeting and seat fabrics, and soy foam seat cushions and head restraints.

AngloGold Ashanti Flaunts its Successes in Education

AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Community Trust Fund has commissioned some education projects at a cost of about GHC600, 000. This is in spite of the daunting challenges facing the company in recent times. 

The company says it is currently engaging with its stakeholders including the communities to garner support to give a new birth to the mine and to demonstrate that the company’s values on the community are still intact.

“We are focusing on education because it is the key to the opportunities in this tough and highly competitive world. We can improve our circumstances, uplift ourselves from poverty and become what we want to be if we take advantage of what modern education can offer us,” stated Mr. Fred Attakumah, Managing Director of Obuasi mine.

The objective of the project is not only to strengthen the social contract between AGA and its communities but to also reinforce AGA commitment to make the communities better off for AGA presence.

According to Attakumah, the commissioning of the facilities is to encourage the children who will benefit from this facility to make education a priority and take their studies seriously. “As communities, united to make significant difference in the quality of lives, it behooves on Nananom and elders, parents and teachers to be mindful of their roles and responsibilities to ensure that the children attend school well prepared, regularly and coalesce with the teachers at all times, in order to optimize the best for the children. It is also your duty to ensure the facilities are well maintained at all times.”

AngloGold Ashanti has on its own supported the development of education over the years. It has built more than 12 schools in Obuasi for the people in the communities.

 The Company is currently the main sponsors of the AngloGold Ashanti Kwame Nkrumah Lectures which is organized annually with The Institute of African Studies – University of Ghana. Among others the Company built a hostel in the late 80s for Komfo Anokye Medical School and constructed the Obuasi Senior High Technical School.
 

“With the Trust Fund, hundreds of computers have been donated to schools in the communities to improve IT skills. We have also donated 8 mini buses to several Senior High Schools in our communities to facilitate easy movement of teachers and students.”
In fulfilment of the Stability Agreement signed between the then AngloGold and the Ghana Government in May 2004, AGA set up the ‘AGA Obuasi Community Trust Fund’ in September 2011 with seed money of US$2.5M.

The objective is to strengthen the social contract between AGA and its communities and also to reinforce AGA’s commitment to make the communities better off for AGA presence.

Since the inception of the fund, 8 Toyota Hiace Mini Buses have been donated to selected public Senior High Schools and 110 desktop computers have been donated to 22 selected Junior High schools within its catchment areas in Amansie Central District, Adansi North District, Adansi South District and Obuasi Municipal.