DIC Fails To Meet Target

Odds seem to be working against DIC, the agency responsible for diversting state owned enterprises, as it continues to struggle to meet government?s targets, in the third time running since the Kufuor administration assumed power in 2000.

It said DIC could only make a total of 216 billion cedis from the sale of government equity shares in Barclays Bank, Tema steel and Coca Cola (US $24m) last year, 2003.

At least US $50m (over 450 billion cedis) was expected to be raised from SOE?s that year, a short fall of 244 billion cedis.

Government has been using proceeds from, SOE?s as one of its internal generating revenues to bolster its yearly fiscal policies but DIC has failed to give off its best in this direction.

A senior DIC official told the paper that a Monetary Policy Committee report released by the Central Bank about a fortnight ago, projected divestiture receipts of 106 billion cedis earmarked for the first quarter of this year, which did not materialise.

By all this indications, it is not likely the agency would make any significant sales by close of year 2004., he said.

Meanwhile, the state owned mining company, Ghana Consolidated Diamonds, also appears to be daisy as officials of DIC even could not predict its fate.