GHANA imports list (beer and stout, cigarettes, cement pipes, roofing sheets, and asbestos and fibers). 6. Export Subsidies Policies The government does not directly subsidize exports. Theoretically, exporters are entitled to 85 percent drawback of duty paid on imported inputs. Exporters of non-traditional commodities (other than cocoa, coffee, timber/logs and non-fuel minerals) may retain 20-35 percent of export receipts in hard currency accounts to finance spare parts and inputs. They are also permitted to repatriate funds if held abroad for sale through the forex bureaus. Ghana is not a member of the GATT Subsidies Code. 7. Protection of U.S. Intellectual Property Prior to independence in 1957, Ghana had offered protection to intellectual property under U.K. laws. It still does so for patents, requiring the registration of patents in the U.K. and thereafter in Ghana within three months of the U.K. registration. In the early years of independence, Ghana instituted separate legislation for copyright and trademark protection (1961 and 1965). Ghana is a member of a the Universal Copyright Convention, the World Intellectual Property Organization and the English-speaking African Regional Intellectual Property Organization. Ghana also offers protection under the terms of the conventions to which it belongs. The government is drafting its own legislation regarding patent protection but, in the meantime, continues to operate under the patent law of the U.K. There are no official statistics on infringement cases, but reportedly, there were fewer than 30 court cases over the past four years. Aggrieved holders of intellectual property rights have access to courts for redress locally. Information on counterfeiting or trademark infringement is not readily available from official sources in Ghana. There is no problem in gaining or maintaining patent registration. Fees for registration by local applicants are 15,000 cedis (about $40) and $90 for foreign applicants. The few book piracy cases recorded were resolved by arbitration at the Ghanaian copyrights registry. A small number of cases of other forms of copyright infringement have been resolved through arbitration. The most serious problem of copyright infringement relates to videotapes. The government is considering measures to curb illegal reproduction and commercial screening of pirated tapes, but has not yet taken action. As of 1990, the Ghana frequency board will not issue a permit for a commercial videotape rental establishment to put up a satellite dish to receive foreign television programming. Copyright violations may be pursued in both the criminal and civil courts. Copyright violations in the form of pirated videotapes and/or cassette tapes probably account for the most serious losses to U.S. firms in the form of lost sales and royalties, GHANA but no statistics or estimates as to the level of impact on U.S. trade of those losses are available. Trade unions are governed by the Industrial Relations Act (IRA) of 1958. Organized labor is represented by the Trades Union Congress (TUC). Once closely linked to the governing party, TUC now has free elections and is becoming increasingly autonomous. The ILO continues to criticize Ghanian legislation which limits the rights of workers to form unions of their choosing. The right to strike is recognized in law and in practice. The IRA provides for a system under which the Government seeks first to conciliate, then arbitrate, disputes. b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively The IRA provides a framework for collective bargaining and some protection against antiunion discrimination as well. Ghana's trade unions engage in collective bargaining for wages and benefits with both private and state-owned enterprises. C. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor Ghanaian law prohibits forced labor, and it is not known to be practiced. d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children Legislation sets a minimum employment age of 15 and prohibits night work and certain types of hazardous labor for those under 18. In practice, child labor is prevalent since local custom and economic circumstances favor children working to help their extended families. Violators of regulations prohibiting heavy labor and night work for children are occasionally punished. e. Acceptable Conditions of Work A tripartite committee of representatives of government, labor and employers establishes a minimum wage. The basic workweek is 40 hours. Occupational safety and health regulations are in effect, and sanctions are occasionally applied to violators. f. Rights in Sectors with U.S. Investment U.S. investment in Ghana is dominated by an operation in the primary and fabricated metals sector. However, there is also significant U.S. investment in the petroleum, chemicals and related products, and wholesale trade sectors. U.S. firms in Ghana must comply with Ghanaian labor laws and no instances of noncompliance are known. (D)-Suppressed to avoid disclosing data of individual companies Source: U.S. Department of Commerce (unpublished) Bureau of Economic Analysis, August 1991 1/ Preliminary estimates obtained from Kenya's Ministry of Planning and Central Bank of Kenya. 2/ The Kenyan government does not publish unemployment figures but due to the large numbers of school leavers KENYA and graduates (over 500,000 in 1990) entering the labor market annually, unemployment and underemployment is estimated at Twenty percent of Kenya's 585,466 square kilometers is arable. The bulk is either rangeland or semi-arid wasteland. Seventy-eight percent of Kenya's 24 million people live in rural areas. In 1990, the government revised the country's estimated 4.1 percent population growth to 3.4 percent. Nevertheless, population pressure remains a critical long term problem in the provision of adequate food supply, education, employment and health services. Kenya's mixed economy has an active private sector and a large inefficient public sector. The government is a major provider of basic infrastructure and socio-economic services and is still deeply entrenched in agricultural marketing. The government has over 200 poorly managed and unprofitable state corporations in virtually all sectors of the economy. resources are thinly spread over enterprises of the economy where the private sector should be a key player. The public sector employs 50 percent of modern sector wage earners and accounts for 42 percent of total investment but contributes a declining 30 to 40 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Its Agriculture, the engine of growth, accounts for 28 percent of GDP and provides income for over 75 percent of the population. Tourism, coffee and tea are significant foreign exchange earners, however, foreign assistance exceeds all as a source of foreign exchange. Foreign grants and loans finance up to 35 percent of total investment in the country. Between 1986 and 1990, Kenya's economy achieved an average 5 percent GDP growth. Signs of strains in the economy began to show in 1989 and 1990 following a drop in earnings of coffee and horticulture and resurgence in petroleum prices. Growth in agricultural production declined even further to 3.4 percent in 1990 from an average of 4.0 percent in the period between 1985 and 1989. A worsening foreign exchange position and government budgetary spending may further reduce performance to less than 4 percent growth in 1991. Heightened donor concern over political, including human rights issues, and economic policy performance in Kenya combined with domestic economic constraints in donor countries, has substantially reduced donor resources vital for the functioning of the Kenyan economy from $950 million in 1989 to approximately $650 million in 1990. In 1991 donors pledged $1 billion. For 1992, donors at a recent World Bank Consultative Group Meeting declined to pledge new assistance until Kenya's performance improves. Donors will reconvene in May 1992. The foreign exchange crunch is being felt in delayed issuance of import licenses and repatriation of profits. This year the reserve level is so low that there is nothing left to draw upon to finance the deficit. This situation is likely to adversely affect Kenya's demand for U.S. and other foreign |