Federation of Ghanaian Jewellers (Ashanti Region)
1. INTRODUCTION
The Government of Ghana admits that the “Golden Age of Business” can only be achieved through partnership with the private sector. “Success will be measured by the response of the private sector to the improved business environment (for example by private sector investment and growth/productivity performance indicators …)” according to the National Medium Term Private Sector Development Strategy 2004-2008 document.Government is aware that the Public-Private Sector Partnership is not working because of “weak, inefficient administration by the public service” which translates into time, money, risk and inefficiency for individual businesses. Government of Ghana, in its desire to enhance its capacity to make effective pro-private sector and pro-market decision, has decided “to support the development of private sector advocacy challenge funds, and put in place mechanisms to enable it to respond to such advocacy”.
The Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) Fund sponsored by DANIDA, DFID and USAID is, therefore, the instrument by which the Public-Private Sector Partnership is to be achieved.
2. APPLICATION/OBJECTIVES
The Federation of Ghanaian Jewellers, Ashanti Region (FGJ-AR), with an active membership of 100, applied to BUSAC Fund in August 2006 (pilot phase) to obtain a grant to employ advocacy to address a constraint that militated against the operations of micro and small-scale jewellery making in Ghana.The advocacy, targeted at the Ministry of Lands, Forestry and Mines, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the parliamentary Select Committee on Lands, Forestry and Mines, had the objective to make raw gold available in the desired quantity and price to micro and small-scale jewellery makers. Unlike footwear makers, for example, who can go to a shop to buy raw materials to produce footwear, goldsmiths do not have easy access to their main production input – raw gold.
The Precious Minerals Marketing Company Ltd. That has been given the permission to buy raw gold from small-scale minders, and from who goldsmiths can buy their raw gold is also making (and even importing jewellery) and thus competing with the goldsmiths. The company would rather sell the raw gold to itself and quote prices prevailing on the world market, which drives members of the FGJ-AR away.
3. THE EXPECTED BENEFITS
The benefits for jewellery makers and the national economy by achieving the objective of the advocacy include the following.- Jewellery makers can fulfil orders and on time. They can also produce and display for sale.
- The “full” employment of the jewellery makers will bring job satisfaction, increase in personal income and expansion of total output of local jewellery.
- The expansion in output can help the introduction of modern tools and equipment and skills training for the jewelers. This will in turn bring about product quality development and the possibility of entering the international market with locally made jewellery.
- The Government through the District Assemblies and the Internal Revenue Service can collect more taxes to improve upon the level and pace of national development.
- The improvement in the operations of local jewellery making can attract school leavers to undergo apprenticeship training; a better source of creating employment compared to street trading that many of the youth are contented with.
- Ghana will gradually become a major center for jewellery making, adding value to part of the raw gold coming from our mines that is exported unprocessed.
4. THE ACTION AND ITS ACTIVITIES
The advocacy action began with a survey of the situation of retailing of raw gold. The report of the study made several recommendations, the most important of which are:- Government to set up a National Jewellery Council to formulate a national policy with regard to quality, standards, licensing, manpower training, market development and the general policy direction and framework for the precious metal jewellery and gemstone industry.
- Gold Loan Scheme whereby a jeweler deposits regular pre-determined amounts of of money in anticipation of purchasing gold at a future date.
- Jewellery machinery resource center –Government to help finance the setting up of machinery resource center to improve jewellers’ skills in producing jewellery up to the standard in terms of quality and design of sophisticated markets.
At the Parliament, the delegation from the regional association (Kumasi) with the support of the national federation, had the privilege of addressing the Members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Mines. The presentation of the proposal coincided with the final (Consideration) stage of the Minerals and Mining Bill.
The Select Committee, realizing that the law they were preparing covered only large scale and small-scale mining (extraction), encouraged FGJ-AR to prepare a clause in a memoradum format for inclusion in the Bill for the development and promotion of jewellery making.
The Select Committee as a whole and the Minerals Commission Chief Executive were full of praise for the proposals of the FGJ-AR (which was a very serious oversight on the part of the law makers).
5. THE RESULTS AND IMPACTS
5.1 the results of the advocacy for an open local retain market for raw gold are as follows:- Submission of a memorandum to Parliament for its inclusion in the Minerals and Mining Bill as a clause. This memorandum contained recommendations including the setting up of a National Jewellery Council to formulate a national policy with regard to quality, standards, licensing, among others.
- Invitation by Anglogold Ashanti, a giant African mining company with operations at Obuasi, Ashanti Region, to supply raw gold to small-scale jewellery makers (negotiations are on-going).
- The BUSAC Fund sponsored advocacy made available a service provider who helped the association to receive another grant from SPED Ghana/IDEAS Fund (of DANIDA and GTZ), to set up a commercial project – jewellery resource center – to provide central workshop, showroom and a training unit for the small-scale jewellery makers.
- The implementation of activities under the advocacy and the resource center project revealed the leadership weakness and justified a strong need for the training of key members of the association.
6. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Besides BUSAC Fund who supported our action in financial terms, the Service Provider has been on hand and committed to the completion and success of the action when the duration of the action run from 12 months to over 24 months.6. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Besides BUSAC Fund who supported our action in financial terms, the Service Provider has been on hand and committed to the completion and success of the action when the duration of the action run from 12 months to over 24 months. Prepared by Barnabas Sefa-Boakye
Service Provider
Business Ideas Consult, Kumasi
P. O. Box SN326, Kumasi
Tel: 027-775-1616
Email: bsefa_boakye@yahoo.co.uk
22nd May 2007
