...PO 4008: African Politics: Development and Democracy Staffan I. Lindberg: Forms of States, Governance, and Regimes: Reconceptualizing the Prospects for Democratic Consolidation in Africa Prof Tom Lodge 16th of March 2015 Introduction In this review essay I will focus on arguments imposed by Staffan I. Lindberg, in his article Forms of States, Governance, and Regimes: Reconceptualizing the Prospects for Democratic Consolidation in Africa. For the purpose of this essay I have selected two African countries (Ghana and the Republic of South Africa) that belong to most developed ones, in terms of their ability to accomplish the process of democratization. If we try to apply Lindberg’s three structural layers system to the chosen states we have to follow the structure of his method. In this regard, firstly we need to identify processes which will inevitably lead to democratization. In such a state we should expect a gradual change in the state form, from capstonian to more penetrative form of state, as Lindberg suggests. To do so we need to identify in which ways and areas is state penetrating society. 1. Forms of States According to Lindberg, there are two most common approaches to the study of African transformation processes. First theory is based on structural determinants of democratization, the second is underlying the importance of actor- oriented analyses. Lindberg distinguishes three structural layers of the state, on the basis of which we can identify the democratization...
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...ASSESSING THE CHALLENGES OF TAX REVENEUE MOBILISATION IN GHANA: A CASE OF SUNYANI MUNICIPALITY. By EGYIN, KODWO BOAKYE (PG 2043808) A Thesis submitted to the Institute Of Distance Learning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of COMMONWEALTH EXECUTIVE MASTERS OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION JUNE, 2011 1 DECLARATION I hereby declare that this submission is my own work towards the CEMBA and that, to the best of my knowledge, it contains no material previously published by another person nor material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree of the University, except where due acknowledgement has been made in the text. Kodwo Boakye Egyin Student Name ................................... Signature .............................. Date Certified by: Mr. Jones Lewis Arthur Supervisor ................................... Signature .............................. Date Certified by: Professor Isaac Dontwi Dean ................................... Signature .............................. Date 2 DEDICATION I dedicate this work first to the Almighty God who has brought me this far, to my father, Kwamina Akwaa Egyin, who mentored me through my education, my loving wife, Yvonne, my sweet kids, Papa Akwaa, Araba and Kurankwesi who stayed by my side all along. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I am most grateful to the Almighty God for His protection throughout the course and seeing to a successful end. My special...
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...SCHEME ON THE REVENUE GENERATION CAPACITY IN GHANA A LONG ESSAY PRESENTED TO THE SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES (SASS), REGENT UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE DEGREE IN ACCOUNTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS NII TORTO QUAO (022 0207) DECEMBER 2009 DECLARATION I hereby declare that this long essay is the original research undertaken by me, including all references from other books, handouts, internet, magazines, textbooks, etc under the supervision of the under signed lecturer. Mr. Albert Akanferi …………………………….. ……………………………….. (Supervisor) Signature Date Nii Torto Quao …………………………….. ………………………………. (Student) Signature Date i ABSTRACT A strong and efficient tax system provides the basis for enhanced economic growth and development. Ghana’s fiscal structure prior to 1983 had generally been characterised by low tax revenue. As a result Ghana undertook a number of reforms prescribed by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank under the Economic Recovery Programme (ERP) and the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP). Tax reforms constituted one of the essential ingredients of SAP. The tax reform process has assumed diverse dimensions over the pass two and half decades. One of those tax reforms was the Value Added Tax scheme (VATs). The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of the VATs on revenue mobilisation in Ghana using tax buoyancy ratios. This study...
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...REPUBLIC OF GHANA THE BUDGET STATEMENT AND ECONOMIC POLICY of the GOVERNMENT OF GHANA for the 2015 FINANCIAL YEAR presented to PARLIAMENT on WEDNESDAY, 19TH NOVEMBER 2014 by SETH E. TERKPER Minister for Finance on the Authority of HIS EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT JOHN DRAMANI MAHAMA Theme: “Transformational Agenda: Securing the Bright Medium Term Prospects of the Economy ’’ THE 2015 BUDGET STATEMENT AND ECONOMIC POLICY ~ ii ~ Theme: “Transformational Agenda: Securing the Bright Medium Term Prospects of the Economy ’’ For copies of the Statement, please contact the Public Relations Office of the Ministry: Ministry of Finance Public Relations Office New Building, Ground Floor, Room 001/003 P. O. Box MB 40 Accra – Ghana The 2015 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana is also available on the internet at: www.mofep.gov.gh ~ iii ~ Theme: “Transformational Agenda: Securing the Bright Medium Term Prospects of the Economy ’’ ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ABFA ACLP ADR AFCON AfDB AIDS AML AMSECs APR ATMA AVIC BACs BDS BIEPC BoG BOP bopd bps BR BRICS BSPs BVDs Annual Budget Funding Amount Ascertainment and Codification of Customary Law Project Alternative Dispute Resolution African Cup of Nations African Development Bank Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Anti-Money laundering Agricultural Mechanization Services Enterprise Centres Annual Progress Report Accra-Tema Metropolitan Area Accra Visitor Information Centre Business Advisory Centres...
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...Into Africa Institutional investor intentions to 2016 An Invest AD report written by the Economist Intelligence Unit Into Africa Institutional investor intentions to 2016 Contents Foreword 2 Preface 3 About this research 4 Key findings 5 I. Introduction: a North-South role reversal 6 II. A hopeful decade: Africa’s changing image 8 III. Barriers to investment 11 IV. The new investment case for Africa 15 V. Investor perceptions versus market reality in key markets 18 Conclusion 20 Appendix: survey results 21 1 © Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2012 Into Africa Institutional investor intentions to 2016 Foreword Africa is no longer a leap of faith Even well informed observers have written off Africa as riven by war, corruption and poverty, but since the emergence of China and India as economic growth engines, many are now asking whether this continent of one billion people can also achieve its own “economic miracle” . These are still early days but there is no doubting the promising signs, politically and economically. At a time of huge change, societies are showing that they can adapt, on the whole, peacefully. In the last year, Nigeria, Tunisia, Zambia and Rwanda have held elections hailed as free and fair by international observers, while a referendum created the new nation of South Sudan. Along with greater political stability, has come policy continuity and improved ...
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...FINANCING SMALL SCALE BUSINESSES IN TAMALE TERMINOLOGIES 1. CAPITAL: Wealth owned by a Company in the form of money, stock or funds which is to be used for the creation of additional wealth. 2. DISCOUNT: A reduction made in the cost of buying items in bulk or for prompt payment. 3. EMPLOYEE: A person or someone who is paid regularly to work for a person or Organization 4. ENTERPRENEUR: A person who on his own account and initiative, makes the policy of a business and undertakes the financial risk. 5. INTEREST RATE: The specific sum of money which has to be paid for money borrowed. 6. NET ASSETS: The value of the resources of a company after deducting all liabilities 7. SHAREHOLDERS’ WORTH: The total assets of a business that belong to shareholders. It thus includes the value of all assets minus all liabilities. 8. PLOUGHED BACK PROFIT: To re-invest earnings in the business in order to develop or expand it. Table of Contents Page Declaration i Certification ii Dedication iii Acknowledgement iv Abstract v Terminologies vi Table of Contents vii CHAPTER ONE 1.1 Background of study 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem 5 1.3 Objective of the study 5 1.4 Significance of the study 6 1.5 Scope of the study 6 1.6 Methodology 6 1.7 Limitation 7 1.8 Chapter organization 7 CHAPTER TWO 2.1 Introduction...
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...Table of Contents INTRODUCTION 2 PESTEL ANALYSIS 3 Political Factors 3 Government Policy 4 Bureaucracy 4 International Relations 5 Corruption 5 Public ownership 5 Taxation policy 6 Economic factors 7 Economic stability 7 GDP Value and Growth 9 Nigeria's GPD shares in 2012 9 Socio cultural factors 11 Population demographics 11 Technological Factors 12 Level of technology in renewable energy 12 Availability and cost of skilled employees 13 Geography 14 Renewable energy potential in Nigeria 16 Solar Energy 16 Wind Energy 17 Waste-to-energy 17 Biomass 17 Reference 19 INTRODUCTION There is higher demand for electricity in the country due to the high consumption and need for electricity, and this project is the plan to study the demand for renewable energy re- sources in Nigeria and to find out the main competitors and discover the best periods for market entry in the country via the micro and the macro environmental analysis. The demand for renewable energy in the country is being driven by the increase and urbanization access to energy intensive technologies, product and the industrial growth. The Nigerian government is wooing energy companies to come and invest in the country. Special energy policy for foreign investors is being organized, such as tax reduction for energy investors in the country, softening all policies related to energy. Nigeria has a lot of renewable energy potential such as sunlight, which might be productive...
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...Africa’s path to growth: Sector by sector The continent’s growth story isn’t entirely about the extractive industries. Seven articles examine the future of a wide range of sectors. Although Africa’s growth prospects are bright, they differ not only country by country but also sector by sector. In these articles, we examine the possibilities for seven of them: agriculture, banking, consumer goods, infrastructure, mining, oil and gas, and telecommunications. Perhaps the most fundamental point is that Africa’s growth story is hardly limited to the extractive industries. As many as 200 million Africans will enter the consumer goods market by 2015. Banking and telecommunications are growing rapidly too, and infrastructure expenditures are rising significantly faster in Africa than in the world as a whole. Not that the growth of the extractive industries won’t be impressive. The continent has more than one-quarter of the world’s arable land. Eleven of its countries rank among the top ten sources for at least one major mineral. Africa will produce 13 percent of global oil by 2015, up from 9 percent in 1998. For many companies, this is a future worth investing in. 2 Africa’s path to growth: Sector by sector Agriculture: Abundant opportunities Kartik Jayaram, Jens Riese, and Sunil Sanghvi Agriculture is Africa’s largest economic sector, representing 15 percent of the continent’s total GDP, or more than $100 billion annually. It is highly concentrated, with Egypt and Nigeria...
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...that such programs do not lead automatically to the resumption of growth, let alone ensure the transition onto a higher growth path. The recent experience of transition economies has shown that price stabilization and opening up may not be enough to achieve a rise in the trend rates of investment and growth. Recognizing this evidence, policy emphasis has shifted to pinpointing complementary policies that will lead an economy from stabilization to growth. The policy debate today focuses on reforms. Ghana immediately after independence made tremendous effort towards achieving full employment and socio economic development through public investment in medium and large scale enterprises. Notwithstanding the direct involvement and the effort of the government, the sector is saddled with a lot of constraints, including scarce capital, intensive technology, foreign exchange constraints, poor management, corruption and inadequate attention to economic viability and market prospects which has resulted in poor performance of the industries in terms of output and employment (Steel & Webster, 1992). Following an economic recession in the 1980’s which resulted in the retrenchment of workers from the civil service, the rationalization of production in the private sector under the Economic Recovery Programme (ERP) was launched in 1983, and the high population growth rate of 2.6% per annum, coupled with the inability of the medium and large scale enterprises to grow and expand over...
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...PURE GOLD TO BE THE LEADING MINING COMPANY To create value for our shareholders, our employees and our business and social partners through safely and responsibly exploring, mining and marketing our products. Our primary focus is gold and we will pursue value creating opportunities in other minerals where we can leverage our existing assets, skills and experience to enhance the delivery of value. Safety is our first value. We place people first and correspondingly put the highest priority on safe and healthy practices and systems of work. We are responsible for seeking out new and innovative ways to ensure that our workplaces are free of occupational injury and illness. We live each day for each other and use our collective commitment, talents, resources and systems to deliver on our most important commitment ... to care. We are accountable for our actions and undertake to deliver on our commitments. We are focused on delivering results and we do what we say we will do. We accept responsibility and hold ourselves accountable for our work, our behaviour, our ethics and our actions. We aim to deliver high performance outcomes and undertake to deliver on our commitments to our colleagues, business and social partners, and our investors. We treat each other with dignity and respect. We believe that individuals who are treated with respect and who are entrusted to take responsibility respond by giving their best. We seek to preserve people's dignity, their sense...
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...GLOBALIZATION, EMPLOYMENT AND POVERTY IN GHANA Ernest Aryeetey1 1. INTRODUCTION One of the most significant influences on the performance of the economy of Ghana in the last two decades has been derived from the greater interaction between it and other economies. Thus, following economic reforms that focused considerably on opening the economy to greater and freer external trade, globalization has been a major aspect of the economy and society. But this influence has been observed not only in the area of external trade; it is seen also in terms of capital flows, aid, technology transfer, international migration, etc. All of these have seen significant expansion in the period of reforms, even if this has been on a scale far smaller than in South East Asia and the other faster growing developing economies. Globalization has definitely created opportunities for various parts of the economy to gain access to larger pools of resources as well as markets. While this may generally be perceived to have impacted positively on the beneficiaries, there are also indications that globalization has introduced new risks to environments that were hitherto closed to those risks. The increased risk may, in some cases, have accentuated poverty and worsened income distribution in parts of the country. While poverty has always been generally closely associated with the condition of African states, its link with globalization is a more recent development, and is much less understood...
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...Forces outside the firm’s traditional boundaries are increasingly important in determining the firm’s success. These forces in “the environment of business” differ among nations and over time, continually confronting the firm with new issues that require modifications in strategies and management practices. Managing in the context of turbulence has become an ongoing reality. Readers will learn how to modify their strategies and management practices and adapt to this new reality. SOCIAL FORCES The subject of ethical codes and CSR crystallizes many social challenges. At the one extreme are those who, like Milton Friedman (1970/2001), advocate the guiding principle of shareholder value maximization as the sole determinant of managerial decisions. At the other extreme are those who expound an altruistic philanthropy based on philosophical beliefs concerning universal ethics, such as those related to human rights. Within this range of perspectives, many authors offer distinct typologies for analyzing social forces and for developing appropriate firm responses to each set of social forces. Meanwhile, the rise of activist groups who threaten public criticism and boycotts means that even Friedman’s dictum of maximizing shareholder value now requires a wide range of CSR strategies. Some analysts, such as Porter and Kramer (2006), believe that each firm should create a competitive advantage through appropriate CSR strategies. From this perspective, CSR morphs into political strategies...
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...Economic Outlook, Prospects, and Policy Challenges 01 CHAPTER This year’s Economic Survey comes at a time of unusual volatility in the international economic environment. Markets have begun to swing on fears that the global recovery may be faltering, while risks of extreme events are rising. Amidst this gloomy landscape, India stands out as a haven of stability and an outpost of opportunity. Its macro-economy is stable, founded on the government’s commitment to fiscal consolidation and low inflation. Its economic growth is amongst the highest in the world, helped by a reorientation of government spending toward needed public infrastructure. These achievements are remarkable not least because they have been accomplished in the face of global headwinds and a second successive season of poor rainfall. The task now is to sustain them in an even more difficult global environment. This will require careful economic management. As regards monetary and liquidity policy, the benign outlook for inflation, widening output gaps, the uncertainty about the growth outlook and the over-indebtedness of the corporate sector all imply that there is room for easing. Fiscal consolidation continues to be vital, and will need to maintain credibility and reduce debt, in an uncertain global environment, while sustaining growth. On the government’s “reformto-transform” agenda, a series of measures, each incremental but collectively meaningful have been enacted. There have also...
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...eight years. Euromonitor predicts the industry will enjoy a 6% rise in revenues in 2014, delivering record global revenues of US$117bn. This robust performance is driven by a 2.1% increase in volume, reflecting growing appetite for chocolate in emerging markets. The challenge for the industry’s major players is how to make best use of this boom to profitably grow their volumes faster than the markets, achieve sustainable improvements in core operating margins and make the right investments – be they in capacity, acquisitions, the supply chain, marketing or R&D – to seize the significant opportunities ahead. The single biggest factor improving the industry’s performance is the fact that, at long last, the global economy is showing signs of sustained recovery. Growth in many major markets is accelerating. The stellar performers are India (expected to grow by 22% this year), Brazil (13%) and China (11%). The potential long-term growth in emerging economies – many of which have growing middle classes – is vast. To give just one example: the per capita consumption of chocolate in China is only a tenth of that in Switzerland. Yet, as this global tour of the chocolate industry suggests, the future is not without challenges. The immediate concern is the balance between supply of cocoa and the chocolate industry’s demand. Manufacturers are already confronting this issue, investing in the development of higher-yield beans, encouraging more sustainable practices, collaborating more closely...
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...Globalization and the Information Economy: Challenges and Opportunities for Africa1 Derrick L. Cogburn, Ph.D. University of Michigan School of Information and Global Information Infrastructure Commission – Africa Catherine Nyaki Adeya, Ph.D. United Nations University Institute for New Technologies Prepared as a working paper for the African Development Forum '99 24-28 October 1999, United Nations Conference Centre United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 1 Copyright © 1999 Derrick L. Cogburn (dcogburn@umich.edu) and Catherine Nyaki Adeya (nyaki@intech.unu.edu). This paper reflects the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of the institutions represented. Comments on the paper are welcome, and an updated version can be found at: www.si.umich.edu/~dcogburn/info_econ.htm. and www.intech.unu Derrick L. Cogburn and Catherine Nyaki Adeya ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors would like to thank the officers and staff at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa for their untiring patience and assistance on the st preparation of this paper. Special thanks to the team organising the 1 African Development Forum. Dr. Cogburn would like to thank his colleagues at the Global Information Infrastructure Commission for their assistance and support on the paper. Also, at the University of Michigan, he thanks his friends and colleagues at the School of Information, the Alliance for Community Technology, and the Centre for AfroAmerican...
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