Acceptance Speech By J.Ebow Bannerman, on being elected President of Ghana Association of Consultants

Mr President, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is with great pleasure and humility that I accept the honour of being elected as the next President of the Ghana Association of Consultants. I like to thank you all for that.

In accepting this honour, I will like to pay tribute to my predecessors – Late Mawuse Dake, Nana Asafo Boakye, Mr Nii Osah Mills, Princess Eva Boateng and finally Mr. Ishmael Appiah – for the foundation laid and all the good work done. My executive and I pledge to continue with this good work and build on the foundation.

It is appropriate even on this occasion to touch on some of the ingredients of the Association’s programme during the next administration.

As an Association with vast and varied specialized skills and expertise, we have a critical role to play in national development. Apart from the professional services we offer as consultants, it behoves us to also constructively comment on issues of national importance. We may do this in the form of memoranda, press statements and interactions with the Ministries, other private sector institutions and Development Partners.

Our principal role as an Association is advocacy and will continue to be our main focus. We will work towards the achievement of an improved environment conducive to the consulting industry. We shall seek the representation of the Association on relevant national Boards and Committees.

In a world that has become a global village, we shall seek to strengthen and forge links with international, regional and national associations in various parts of the world. We cannot afford to live in isolation. Indeed the very nature of our vocation demands that we look beyond the shores of our country.

In the highly competitive global market in which we operate, success demands that we raise the consulting industry to higher levels. This could be attained through capacity building, co-operation and association among member consulting firms as well as with foreign firms.

To be able to play our advocacy and other roles effectively, we need to strengthen our Association. It is important not only to sustain, but also to raise the level of confidence of members in the Association. This will assure their support and also attract others who are not already with us. We can do this by among others ensuring a level playing field in the industry. It will also be useful to regularly compile and disseminate information on consulting opportunities. Ways will have to be found to facilitate entry of member consulting firms into regional and international markets. Strong Individual Professional Associations (PIAs) are critical to the pursuit of the Association’s objectives. We will explore and pursue best means of assisting PIAs, particularly those facing serious difficulties. The Association pledges to work closely with them.

As part of the reengineering measures to be pursued by the Association, the various committees will be revamped to make them more effective.

Finally it is recognized that the GAC Secretariat itself needs to be better resourced and that the Association as a whole needs to be placed on sound financial footing. We intend to vigorously tackle these issues.

Ladies and Gentlemen, once again, let me thank you for this honour.

Thank you.

________________________________________________________________________________

GHANA ASSOCIATION OF CONSULTANT’S 15TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, 29TH MARCH 2007
PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS

INTRODUCTION
I welcome you all to the 15th Annual General Meeting which for the first time is taking place at the Association’s Secretariat.

ACTIVITIES
The plans of the Association to carry out its own programmes, events and activities to fulfil its advocacy mission was the current financial limitation of the Association as a result of the closure of the DANIDA funding assistance two years ago.

The council therefore approved the joining by Ghana Association of Consultants to the Private Enterprise Foundation (PEF) in order to use P.E.F as a channel for achieving G.A.C OBJECTIVES. The Executive Council approved and paid Ten Million Cedis (10,000,000) towards its registration as a full member of P.E.F. However the Annual membership dues are still outstanding. That not withstanding, the association was invited to participate in programmes initiated by the Foundation.

Last year, a four man delegation of consultants from Burkina Faso was in the country to solicit the assistance of our Association in the formation of a similar one in the country. There was a fruitful discussion and they promised inviting the Association to their Inauguration.

The Public Procurement Board under the Public Procurement Act 2003 (Act 663) compiled the list of our membership under the directory of recognized local suppliers. They also intend to organize a training programme for trainers. A letter was therefore sent to all P.I.A under this Association to nominate two representatives to attend this trainers program. The Association has just received nominations from the Ghana Bar Association, Institute of Chartered Accountants and Ghana Institution of Surveyors.

OUTSTANDING ISSUES

1. Executive Secretary: Even though the Executive Committee decided to advertise and engage the services of an Executive Secretary, the financial standing of the association could not support this important appointment.

2. Office Equipment: As members were informed at the Council Meeting our website is running and available to members, There is an urgent need to update our secretariat with current equipment befitting an Association like Ghana Association of Consultants.

FINANCES
For the past two years the Association depended solely on members dues and registration. A total of ¢43,650,000 ( Forty three million, six hundred and fifty thousand cedis ) was collected for the year 2006. This amount is not enough to undertake the required activities necessary to promote our advocacy role.

CONCLUSION
The Major problem facing Ghana Association of Consultants is funding in order to carry out our advocacy programmes and recruiting an Executive Secretary. Therefore I suggest that all members pay their Annual dues to keep the Association going while we continue to look for other sources of funding.

Thank you.