The digital revolution has transformed industries, spawning internet enterprises and remote labor, among other things.
However, with the emergence of the gig economy and freelancing revolution, the traditional borders of employment have blurred, enabling agile, project-based engagements and empowering individuals to diversify income streams through platforms such as Uber, Airbnb, and Upwork.
According to Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED) Financial Economist lecturer, the environment of disruption is not without its facilitators and enigmas.
Dr Evans Duah stated that, while automation and AI improve efficiency, they have spurred discussions about the significance of upskilling and adaptability in the face of potential job displacement.
“Concomitantly, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of remote work and virtual collaboration tools, prompting us to reconsider company culture, work-life balance, and office space utilization,” he said.
In a gig economy, the labor market is characterized by the prevalence of independent contractors and freelancers who take on temporary and part-time roles rather than traditional full-time permanent positions. While gig workers enjoy flexibility and independence in their work arrangements, they often sacrifice job security.
The term “gig economy” originates from the music industry, where performers schedule individual or short-term commitments, known as “gigs,” at various locations.
Within this gig economy, many individuals engage in part-time or temporary jobs, or operate as independent contractors. This economic model has led to the emergence of cheaper and more efficient services, exemplified by platforms like Uber or Airbnb, which are embraced by those seeking such benefits.
Dr. Duah has observed that entrepreneurship and startups are driving their own narratives of change in this dynamic gig economy.
“Entrepreneurship has become more accessible, with lowered barriers for startups and an influx of venture capital and incubators fostering innovation.”
Dr. Duah was speaking at Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship Seminar at the Beulah SDA Church at Kwadaso Estate near Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.
Franklin Karikari, the Director of Business Support NEIP, spearheaded a three-day conference that attracted more than 300 daily participants. The attendees gathered with the aim of acquiring knowledge and devising plans for their future financial freedom endeavors.
In the United States, a significant gig economy is already taking shape, with forecasts indicating that as much as a third of the working population engages in some form of gig work.
Experts, including Dr. Duah, project that the number of gig workers in Ghana will rise as these types of jobs foster independent contracting opportunities, with many not requiring freelancers to work from a traditional office setting. This trend makes gig workers more inclined to take up part-time roles and work from the comfort of their homes.
“Gig work is one of the catalyst to unemployment reduction. Ghana should maximize this opportunity as we are well positioned to leverage this. I expect an incremental change but I would prefer the government to accelerate it for an exponential increase,” he further explained.
“…. a wave of creative minds and innovators are taking center stage, fueling disruptions across sectors, from E-commerce and Retail to Healthcare Innovation. The vanguard of young professionals is weaving Sustainability and Energy Innovation into the fabric of their pursuits, redefining industries with renewable energy sources, electric vehicles, and groundbreaking health tech,” he indicated.
In the midst of these changes, he explained that the emphasis on social entrepreneurship and sustainability has paved the way for enterprises that have a positive societal impact while also making a profit.
“In this orchestra of change, Lifelong Learning and Upskilling underscore the urgent need for continuous education to remain relevant in a rapidly evolving landscape. Concurrently, Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies emerge as the quintessential disruptors in the arena of digital identity, as the discourse surrounding Data Privacy and Security serves to underscore the paramount importance of safeguarding sensitive information.”
Dr. Duah urged young professionals to be visionary as well as adaptable.
Babies born during the COVID-19 lockdown period are experiencing a setback in their communication skills due to limited social interactions, according to a recent study. The findings shed light on the potential long-term impact of pandemic-related restrictions on early childhood development, raising concerns about the developmental consequences faced by this generation of infants.
A recent investigation by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) has explored the experiences of infants born during the pandemic and their subsequent health and developmental implications. The study has found that two-year-old babies born during the COVID-19 era exhibit comparable behavior and developmental patterns to those born prior to the pandemic’s onset.
It indicated that the pandemic born babies had certain communication skills lagging compared to babies born before the lockdown.
The research team led by Susan Byrne, Senior Lecturer at the RCSI, and Jonathan Hourihane, the RCSI’s professor of paediatrics indicated that, the research focused on babies born in the first three months of lockdown and compared with a similar group of babies born before the pandemic. A total of 354 families and their babies were involved in the study.
“We wanted to understand what life was like for babies born during the pandemic, and what it might mean for their general health and development,” Byrne told the Observer.
The research discovered that these babies of six months, had limited interaction with relatives and family friends, with an average of only three individuals, including their parents, having kissed them.
Additionally, a quarter of the babies had not met another child their age by their first birthday.
Parents, when asked about raising children during the lockdown, Byrne, indicated that most of them described it as a feeling of loneliness and isolation.
However, the study also revealed that family time and bonding increased during this period.
Babies born during the pandemic probably heard fewer words because they were not getting out of their houses, and this may have led to their slightly lower communication scores compared with those of children born earlier.
Nevertheless, the study showed no overall decline in other developmental aspects such as motor skills and problem-solving abilities. Questionnaires filled out by parents indicated no differences in their children’s behaviour regarding sleep problems, anxiety, or social withdrawal.
“Covid restrictions ended quite a while ago, and babies have been out and about doing normal activities, meeting other people, going to play groups. And you’d hope that the findings would settle by the age of five – but we need to find out conclusively if that is really the case,” Bryan indicated
The research team plans to extend the study, following the babies until they reach school age at five years old. This will provide further insights into the long-term effects of the pandemic on their development.
Interestingly, the relatively encouraging conclusions of this Irish study contrast with the academic performances of older children. Recent data from England revealed that primary school pupils continue to perform below pre-pandemic standards in mathematics, writing, and reading.
Standard assessment tests (Sats) taken at the end of primary school indicated a slight improvement compared to the previous year, but the results remained significantly behind those from 2019. The figures showed that less than three-fifths of pupils are reaching the expected standard in reading, writing, and math, falling short of the government’s target of 90% by 2030.
The challenges faced by children during the pandemic, including limited social interaction and disrupted education, have had a lasting impact. The need for adequate support and resources to facilitate educational recovery becomes increasingly apparent.
Individual stories, such as that of Alex Thomas, whose children have faced speech and language challenges, highlight the personal struggles experienced by families. Access to appropriate therapies and support services remains crucial in addressing these issues.
Understanding the long-term effects of the pandemic on child development is of paramount importance. Continued research and comprehensive support will be essential in helping children overcome any setbacks and thrive as they grow older.
According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of severe Covid cases and fatalities is on the decline.
It added that despite the fact that many people gathered with their families for the Lunar New Year holidays last week, there had been “no obvious rebound.”
Concerns have long been voiced regarding Covid reporting from China.
However, experts claim that the reported decline now fits with the anticipated timing of this major wave’s end.
The virus tore through Chinese cities and towns after authorities lifted zero-Covid restrictions in December. However, fever clinic visit rates have dropped over 90% through January, and hospitalization rates are down over 85%.
Fears that the virus could surge again during the festive period have also not yet been realised.
In its report, the CDC said: “There has not been an obvious rebound in COVID cases during the Lunar New Year holidays.”
“In this time, no new variant has been discovered, and the country’s current wave is coming to an end.”
It also reported a sharp decline in the daily Covid death toll reported by hospitals – from a peak of 4,300 deaths on 4 January to 896 deaths on 23 January.
Infectious diseases expert Hsu Li Yang told the BBC: “This drop in deaths follows the decline in the first huge wave of cases after China relaxed its restrictions, which is understandable and has been seen in virtually every country experiencing a large COVID wave.”
“We will know soon if the Lunar New Year celebrations will trigger another surge in China cases, but it is unlikely to match what was experienced in December and the earlier part of January 2023.”
One of China’s leading epidemiologists and former heads of the CDC, Zeng Guang, had earlier this month warned that cases would surge in rural areas during the new year.
However, the CDC said there had been no immediate spike following the holiday period.
It’s estimated that 226 million passenger trips were taken during the Lunar New Year festive season from 22-27 January – a 70% increase from last year when pandemic restrictions were still in place across many parts of China.
According to CDC data, Covid deaths halved in consecutive weeks in January. A total of 12,658 deaths were recorded between 13-19 January, while 6,364 deaths were recorded the following week.
In December, Beijing abruptly ended draconian Covid curbs that had seen millions of its citizens locked down over the past three years.
That led to a severe spike in Covid infections and deaths, with some experts estimating a majority of the population contracted Covid in the weeks following.
A Peking University study said that as of January 11, some 900 million people in China had been infected with the coronavirus, amid multiple reports of overcrowded hospitals and crematoria.
However, Chinese authorities initially maintained that there had only been seven deaths since the end of zero-COVID on December 7, after narrowing their definition of what counts as a COVID death.
The National Health Commission later reported almost 60,000 Covid-related deaths between 8 December and 12 January, after it began including deaths from underlying conditions as well as respiratory failure caused by Covid.
China’s official Covid data is believed to be vastly underreported, and authorities stopped releasing daily caseload reports last month.
Beijing has said it has been sharing COVID data in “a timely, open, and transparent manner in accordance with the law.”
Most Ghanaians believe that a chunk of funds intended for the Covid-19 pandemic response has been lost to corruption.
This was captured in Afrobarometer Round 9 survey conducted in April 2022.
Few Ghanaians reported that their household received pandemic-relief assistance from the government, while many said the distribution was unfair.
“Only half (50%) praised the government’s provision of relief to vulnerable households (Figure 3).
“Only two in 10 Ghanaians (20%) reported that their household had received COVID19 relief assistance from the government, while 80% said they had not (Figure 4).
“Only three in 10 citizens (31%) said that COVID-19 relief was distributed “somewhat fairly” or “very fairly,” while two-thirds (67%) said the distribution was unfair (Figure 5).
“And more than seven in 10 (72%) believe that “some” (28%) or “a lot” (44%) of the resources intended for the COVID-19 response were lost to corruption (Figure 6), said the Afrobarometer report.
This comes on the heels of a similar report recently released by the Auditor-General showing the government’s misuse of funds during the COVID-19 pandemic.
e Ghana audit service report on the government’s covid-19 expenditure for the period going from March 2020 to June 2022 recorded various infractions.
In all, GH¢21,844,189,185.24 (over a billion US $) was mobilised to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana.
The 119-page long report highlighted irregularities in the management of some tranches of the funds.
Among them, is the payment of over 10 million cedis in insurance premiums to cover 10,000 frontline health workers and allied health professionals without a binding contract detailing among others who the beneficiaries are.
Afrobarometer survey
The Afrobarometer team in Ghana, led by the Ghana Center for Democratic Development, interviewed a nationally representative sample of 2,369 adult Ghanaians in April 2022.
“A sample of this size yields country-level results with a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points,” the release said.
The World Bank has provided an additional finance support of US$150 million under the Ghana Productive Safety Net Project, according to Pierre Laporte, the bank’s country director, in an effort to expand Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) benefits and coverage.
The Country Director for Ghana stated at the learning event to conclude the Ghana Productive Safety Net Project (GPSNP): “Through a request from the Ministry of Finance, the World Bank will further support government with additional financing to the GPSNP 2, which will aid in increasing Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) benefits and coverage and expanding to reach other significant social protection programmes.
“These efforts are key to aiding us make gains in poverty alleviation and economic growth, despite setbacks in the agenda as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he stated.
Since 2010, the World Bank has consistently supported Ghana’s government in its efforts to protect the poor and boost economic growth. These include the Ghana Social Opportunities Project (GSOP) with US$138.6million; subsequently, the Ghana Productive Safety Net Project (GPSNP) with US$60million; and currently GPSNP 2 with USS$100million initiated in 2022 and closing in 2025. These interventions have cumulatively reached over 2 million poor and vulnerable Ghanaians.
According to the World Bank, government through the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) and Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) has achieved significant milestones in reducing poverty by delivering effective social protection systems as an effort to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goal 1.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, existing GPSNP programmes and systems were critical as they were used to speedily identify poor and vulnerable people, and Cash Transfers were successfully delivered to those in need; and there was the Single Window Citizens Engagement Services through which individuals were able to call and seek assistance.
The Country Director mentioned that phone surveys undertaken during and after the COVID-19 pandemic’s peak provided evidence the existing social protection systems were effective in supporting the poor and vulnerable.
The GPSNP was implemented in 2018 and closes in December 2022 – after enhancing Ghana’s efforts toward eradicating poverty and vulnerability through improved social protection systems and services to citizens and strengthening safety net systems that improve productivity for the extreme poor.
The Project interventions included: (i) Productive Inclusion activities; (ii) Labour-intensive Public Works; (iii) Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) Cash Transfers; (v) Social Protection Systems strengthening including the Ghana National Household Registry (GNHR), the Single Window Citizen Engagement Service (SWCES), and development of management information systems and electronic payments platforms.
As such, the Learning Event will highlight achievements in the digitisation of social protection delivery services; challenges confronting the sector; and lessons learned.
Mr. Laporte highlighted efforts to focus on the strengths of intentionally promoting a digitisation agenda for GPSNP.
“My team tells me that in 2012 LEAP cash transfers were monitored by using paper which was stored in a building at the Headquarters. Today, all services are inputted and tracked by a virtual management information system – which allows the minister, by the click of a button, to know what is happening on the ground. Additionally, the financial capabilities of beneficiaries have been increased because of introductions to bank accounts and saving schemes.”
“Looking ahead with an estimation that about 1 million more Ghanaians could fall into poverty by 2050, as a result of climate change, this calls for the development of robust systems. Leveraging technology becomes even more important to first support relief, enable recovery and, most importantly, build resilience among the poor and most vulnerable,” the Country Director stated.
To support his claim, Togbe Afede XIV compared Ghana’s minimum salary to that of the United Kingdom, which is GBP9.50 per hour, or GBP76 for an 8-hour workday, whereas the wage in Ghana is GH14.88 per day, less than GBP1.
“These high interest rates made it difficult for businesses to borrow to invest in the real sectors of the economy to achieve the value-addition we crave. It also perpetuated our import dependence, while making it difficult for local entrepreneurs to borrow, invest and increase local ownership of the economy,” he noted.
He further accused the BoG officials of inadvertently frustrating efforts aimed at restructuring the Ghanaian economy.
“Bank of Ghana officials have inadvertently frustrated the restructuring of the economy, which they themselves have identified as the solution to our balance of payments deficit and currency depreciation problems.”
“It is difficult to see how policy rate increases can fight cost-pushed inflation resulting from food or crude oil price increases or increased taxes on petroleum products. Sadly, even at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when income levels had fallen world-wide, and stimulus packages were being implemented everywhere to boost economic activity, BoG still ensured that we suffer under strangulating high interest rates,” the economist added.
While indicating that Bank of Ghana’s monetary policy decisions have not helped in improving economic policy measures over the years, Togbe Afede XIV said it has succeeded in maintaining a growth-stifling ‘high inflation – high interest rate’ environment adding that “it has also created the most profitable banking sector in Africa, if not the world, all with disastrous consequences for the cedi.”
Haiti’s UN humanitarian coordinator has revealed that , cholera has already claimed the lives of 283 people in the Caribbean country and more than 14,000 suspected cases have been reported. Due to the insecurity, about 155,000 people have been internally displaced.
As nearly 20,000 people in Port-au-Prince experience “catastrophic famine-like conditions” due to a cholera outbreak, gangs who control nearly 60% of the city’s population are tearing apart society, a senior UN official has warned.
Ulrika Richardson, the nation’s UN humanitarian coordinator, said at a news conference that the gangs are using “terrifying levels” of sexual violence “as a weapon” to control populations, instil fear, and punish them.
The fight for territory has “a human cost” and what people are facing on an everyday basis is “enormous”, she added, warning that if the issue is not addressed now, it will be “very difficult in terms of social cohesion and reconciliation”.
She said all but 1,000 of the 20,000 Haitians facing starvation are in the capital, Port-au-Prince, mainly in the Cite Soleil slum controlled by the gangs.
Image: A woman with her daughter who is stricken with cholera at a clinic in Port-au-Prince. Pic: AP
This comes as the cholera outbreak in the Caribbean nation “continues to be a worry”.
The illness has caused at least 283 deaths so far and close to 12,000 people have been treated in hospital since 2 October.
There are more than 14,000 suspected cases throughout the country, and infections have been confirmed in eight of Haiti’s 10 regions.
An emergency appeal aimed at raising more than $145m (£118m) to contain the spread of cholera in the nation was launched in November. Around $23.5m (£19.2m) has been donated so far, said Ms Richardson.
Image:Rose Delpe cries as people are displaced by gang war violence in Haiti
‘Massive displacement’
Political instability has simmered since the unsolved assassination last year of President Jovenal Moise, who had faced protests calling for his resignation over corruption charges.
Insecurity in the country has led to the “massive” internal displacement of 155,000 people fleeing their homes – a 77% increase since August.
Many are the “most vulnerable”, such as women and families, who are in temporary sites or being hosted in communities.
Image: Ulrika Richardson
Ms Richardson said they are working with institutions to figure out how to address the issue since those hosting the displaced have “meagre” resources.
School closures have affected around four million children, many of whom have not received proper education since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the humanitarian chief.
In a more positive development, more than half of schools have now opened, said Ms Richardson. Although, there is “disparity” in that most of them are in the south.
“We have logistical challenges, you can imagine, and the security challenge, but we are able to be present and we are able to help people,” she said.
“We are obviously focusing on the most vulnerable, but we also try not to lose focus on the real structural root causes.
“So, we have corruption, we have impunity, we have governance, and all of that needs to really be at the centre also of our thinking as we go forward.”
He claims that these nurses relocate to the most prestigious nations to continue their professions since there they are given better working circumstances.
Shedding light on the number of nurses to have left the country during and after the COVID-19 pandemic hit the shores of Ghana, David Tenkorang told Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show, “We have the data of nurses who have migrated out of Ghana and we have about 5,000 nurses who left Ghana in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Averagely, we have between 400 to 500 nurses leaving the country every month. They migrate to the UK, Ireland, Wales, Canada, USA and Australia. These are the areas they are migrating to.”
He shared that a few of these nurses migrate to the Middle East, but described that part of the world as not a so good destination for them (nurses).
Health Minister, Kwaku Agyemang Manu, has revealed an imminent bilateral agreement between the Government of Ghana and the British Government to send Ghanaian trained Nurses to the United Kingdom (UK) in exchange for financial considerations.
According to Mr Agyemang Manu, this will be similar to an already existing arrangement with Barbados, where he said Ghanaian nurses are excelling.
The MP for Dormaa Central made this known on Monday, December 5, on the Floor of Parliament during the 2023 Budget debate.
The MP questioned why Ghana’s neighbors are not experiencing the same suffering since they were all affected by the COVID-19 outbreak in an interview with TV3 that GhanaWeb was watching.
He continued by saying that the only reason Ghana is in worse shape is because the current administration mismanaged all the funding the nation received as a consequence of the COVID-19 outbreak.
“Why is it that our neighbouring countries are not suffering the way we are suffering? Why is Togo not suffering the way we are suffering? Why is it that Burkina Faso is not suffering the way we are suffering?
“COVID hit all of us; was Ghana the only country that was hit by COVID? Ghana was not the only country that was hit by COVID. As a matter of fact, all those countries (our neighbours) none of them went to the IMF to borrow $3 billion in the name of COVID. None of them.
“As a matter of fact, Burkina Faso went for $20 million. None of our neighbours went to the World Bank to borrow about $906 million… none of them went to their central bank to request (GHS) 10 billion; they ended up borrowing (GHS) 20 billion,” he said.
Also, the MP said that if the government wants Ghanaians to support its policies to get the country out of the current economic mess, it should lead by example by drastically reducing its expenditure.
The purpose of the market, according to Mr. Akufo-Addo, who spoke at this year’s national farmers’ day celebration, is to make food accessible to state officials at a reasonable price.
In fact, he claimed, “Cabinet really established an Inter-Ministerial Committee in July 2022 with the task to intervene directly in the food market, by purchasing food at the farmgate, and transferring it for sale at urban centres.
“The Ministry of Food and Agriculture started a pilot food market in November, by arranging for traders to bring food items, such as plantain, yam and rice, direct to Accra from the production areas for direct sale to civil servants and the general public”, the president noted.
He added: “The market has been so well patronised that it has been extended to four other locations within Greater Accra, and is being rolled out in Kumasi, Koforidua and Takoradi urban centres. This is to enable consumers access to foodstuffs at affordable prices”.
Read the president’s full farmers’ day speech below:
President Akufo-Addo Marks 38th Farmers’ Day Celeberation At Koforidua
ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC, NANA ADDO DANKWA AKUFO-ADDO, AT THE 38TH FARMERS’ DAY CELEBRATION, AT KOFORIDUA, EASTERN REGION, ON FRIDAY, 2ND DECEMBER 2022, ON THE THEME “ACCELERATING AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT THROUGH VALUE ADDITION”
I am happy to be back in Koforidua, capital of my home region, the Eastern Region. I am grateful to Almighty God for yet another opportunity to join you honour our farmers, fishers and, indeed, all actors along the agricultural value chain for their invaluable contribution to our sustenance, and for the development of Mother Ghana.
Recent global events, which have led to a food crisis across the world, call for greater appreciation of what our farmers and fishers, here in Ghana, have done and continue to do for us.
On a daily basis, there are news reports of countries struggling under the combined weight of the forces of the COVID -19 pandemic, the climate crisis and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The effects of these forces entail disruption of supply chains, hikes in fuel prices, spiralling inflation and sharp reductions in economic growth. On the agricultural front, the impact is seen in the shortage and high cost of critical inputs for farming such as fertilizers. Significant rises in fuel prices, globally, have contributed to rising prices of foodstuffs across the globe, and Ghana is no exception.
In response to the impact of the challenges to general food security, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, rallied World Leaders to a Food Systems Summit in September 2021 in which I participated, on the sidelines of the meeting of the General Assembly, to strategise on how to mitigate the growing threat to food systems. The emphasis, at the Summit, was to help avert extreme poverty and looming hunger, as specified in the UN Sustainable Development Goals I and II, respectively. It was a call to action by all countries to prioritise agriculture, and recommit to the transformation of food systems to build resilience and ensure sustainable food security.
In this respect, I find the theme for this year’s Farmers’ Day Celebration, “Accelerating Agricultural Development Through Value Addition”, most appropriate and timely. Value addition, as a means of accelerating the development of agriculture, is one of the logical strategies for ensuring food security, and rightly so. I say this because of the perennial problem of post-harvest losses experienced in most countries, including Ghana.
Since 2017, strategic interventions in the agriculture sector have emphasised value addition through the implementation of the One-District-One-Factory flagship programme by Government. It is instructive to note that one hundred and seventy-two (172) of the two hundred and ninety-six (296) factories to be established under the programme are agro-based, processing the rapidly increasing farm output of our farmers.
Clearly, it is evident that Ghana has been put firmly on the track of value addition. Government appreciates fully that value addition is the one of the best ways to unlocking the huge potential of Ghana’s agriculture. Current developments in the country have reinforced the need to direct greater attention to promoting value addition. As a country, it is important to draw on very hard lessons from the impact of external factors on our food systems. Food prices in urban centres are unacceptably high. However, it is equally true that some internal factors are also contributing to the high prices. Government continues to evaluate the situation for appropriate action to be taken.
Indeed, in July 2022, Cabinet set up an Inter-Ministerial Committee with the brief to intervene directly in the foodstuff market, by buying food at the farmgate, and transporting it for sale at urban centres.
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture started a pilot food market in November, by arranging for traders to bring food items, such as plantain, yam and rice, direct to Accra from the production areas for direct sale to civil servants and the general public.
The market has been so well patronised that it has been extended to four other locations within Greater Accra, and is being rolled out in Kumasi, Koforidua and Takoradi urban centres. This is to enable consumers access to foodstuffs at affordable prices.
Chairperson, agriculture will continue to remain a top priority of my government. The massive investments made in the sector attest to this fact.
The positive narrative about Government’s support to the agriculture sector is that, unlike several other countries, Ghana is better prepared, and has demonstrated resilience to the current adversities threatening to destabilise our food systems.
This has been possible because of the sound, pragmatic policies and programmes rolled out at the inception of my stewardship.
Our flagship programme, Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ), with its focus on improving farm productivity, through the use of technology on farms, has succeeded in increasing our food security, and opened up new opportunities for diversifying our agricultural exports by promoting six (6) tree crops for future substantial foreign exchange earnings.
In 2016, Government inherited production levels of 1.7 million metric tonnes of maize and six hundred and sixty-five thousand metric tons of rice (665,000). Under the PFJ, maize production reached 3.4 million tonnes by 2021 and rice to 1.2 million metric tonnes.
The credit must go to our gallant farmers, fishers and value chain actors who embraced the PFJ policies, and leveraged the opportunities created by the enabling environment for agricultural development.
By design, PFJ has targeted other sectors under agriculture with promising results. Under its Rearing for Food Jobs module, some one hundred and thirty-four thousand, four hundred (134,400) birds and small ruminants were distributed to one thousand, two hundred and fifty-four (1,254) beneficiaries in 2022 alone.
In addition, nine hundred thousand (900,000) broiler day old chicks (chicken), together with nine hundred metric tons of feed and vaccines, have been contracted out for supply to farmers next year.
Still under the livestock sector, Government has released GH¢15.6 million as payment of compensation to two hundred and eighty (280) farms affected by the highly pathogenic Avian Influenza.
There is also support for disease surveillance, public awareness creation, capacity building and the procurement of motorbikes for operational activities to enhance early detection, prevention and disease management. As part of institutional strengthening for the Veterinary Services Directorate, five hundred and fifty (550) veterinary officers and allied staff have been recruited this year alone.
Chairperson, the achievements of my government include the promotion of selected tree crops to diversify export earnings from the sector. For more than a century, Ghana has relied heavily on cocoa for foreign exchange earnings, whilst the potential for several other tree crops remains untapped.
By an Act of Parliament, the Tree Crop Development Authority was established in 2020, to coordinate and promote the development of six tree crops, namely cashew, rubber, oil palm, coconut, mango and shea.
At maturity, these selected crops will have the combined potential of generating annually an additional twelve billion dollars ($12 billion) to supplement the annual two billion dollars ($2 billion) from cocoa.
Since the launch of the Tree Crop Development programme in 2018, several nurseries have been established with the participation of private sector.
The Ministry, through the Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA), facilitated the provision of 2.7 million improved seedlings to some eleven thousand, one hundred (11,100) farmers during 2022 cropping season.
I commend the District Assemblies for their participation in this effort, and I continue to urge our chiefs, land owners and prospective investors to leverage the opportunities created in the tree crop sub-sector.
Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) and other partners have facilitated the smooth introduction and enhancement of major interventions such as the National Cocoa Rehabilitation Programme, Hand Pollination Programme, Mass Pruning Exercise, Cocoa Diseases and Pests Control Programme, the Subsidised Fertilizer Distribution Programme, amongst others.
I have been reliably informed that, two years after we re-launched the National Cocoa Rehabilitation Programme in the Western North Region, a total farm area of fifty-six thousand, three hundred and forty-three (56,343) hectares have been fully treated across the cocoa growing regions, as of 30th September 2022.
As a result of the success of the programme, thousands of farmers, who had abandoned their cocoa farms due to the devastating effect of the cocoa swollen shoot virus disease, have returned, and are active again in the cocoa business.
It is important to underscore that these interventions brought back smiles on the faces of our cherished farmers, and also provided employment to some twenty-seven thousand (27,000) youth in scheme areas, that is one thousand, three hundred and sixty-one (1,361) as technical assistants; one thousand, eight hundred and forty-five (1,845) as disease spotters; and twenty-three thousand, nine hundred and thirteen (23,913) as farm hands.
Chairperson, in 2019, Government began the implementation of the Cocoa Management System (CMS) to help establish a credible database on Ghana’s cocoa.
The integrated cocoa farmer database, which includes the development of a software data system, a census of all cocoa farmers in Ghana as well as mapping of all farms, will ensure, for the first time, the availability of accurate information on land size, geographic locations, population and record of cocoa farmers and farms in Ghana.
I am happy to announce, again, that the CMS is ready, setting in motion the processes of rolling out fully the much-anticipated cocoa farmers pension scheme. The mandatory pension scheme, which takes effect in the current 2022/23 crop season, will provide a decent pension for cocoa farmers after a minimum of five (5) years contribution.
It is important to mention that that the Living Income Differential (LID) pricing mechanism, being spearheaded by Cote d’ Ivoire and Ghana, the two biggest global producers of cocoa, through the Cote d’ Ivoire-Ghana Cocoa Initiative, is progressing despite seeming obstacles from some of our international trading partners. I want to assure our farmers that everything possible is being done to see to the full implementation of the scheme to cushion them against price volatility, and also guarantee sustainable livelihoods for them.
Fellow Ghanaians, the sustainability of the cocoa sector is contingent also on how effectively we are able to fight the devasting effects of the illegal mining menace. All of us, farmers and citizens, have a collective responsibility to bring this environmental canker to a halt if we do not want to ruin the inheritance our forefathers bequeathed us.
Other interventions implemented by my government, which are critical for accelerated development of the country, include the following:
Greenhouse Training Centres
Three greenhouse training centres, with attached commercial units at Dawhenya, Akumadan and Bawjiase for training youth in high-quality vegetable production, have been constructed. These vegetables are sold to high-end shops such as Palace Mall, Shoprite, Starbite, KFC and Burger King in Tema, Accra and Kumasi. To date some five hundred and thirty-seven (537) youth have been trained, with three hundred and forty (340) of them having received internship training in Israel.
Irrigation
Since 2017, substantial investments have been directed to the construction and rehabilitation of twelve (12) irrigation schemes for which six (6) are ninety percent (90%) complete, five are between forty five percent (45%) to seventy percent (70%) complete, and Pwalugu dam currently at five percent (5%) completion. Together, these irrigation projects will make available thirty-one thousand, four hundred and fifteen (31,415) hectares of land for all year-round crop production when completed.
Warehouses
Measures taken by Government to address other major marketing problems in the agriculture sector include construction of eighty (80) warehouses of one thousand metric ton (1,000MT) capacity each for food storage, and to reduce post-harvest losses. Sixty-five (65) of eighty (80) have been fully completed, handed over and currently in use. The remaining are all at advanced stages of completion, ranging from seventy percent (70%) to ninety percent (90%).
Mechanization
To accelerate the process of agricultural modernization, my government, through various bilateral arrangements, has imported assorted agricultural machinery including tractors, power tillers, planters, threshers, combine harvesters and hand-held equipment for smallholder farmers at a total value of sixty-seven million United States dollars ($67 million). These farm equipment and machinery are being sold at subsidised rates to farmers and other investors. Currently, I am happy to report that processes have been concluded towards the establishment of a Tractor Assembly Plant in Ghana. This will go a long way to reduce cost of tractors, improve access to tractor parts and create jobs.
Agriculture Financing
To promote and increase investment in agriculture, Government established the Ghana Incentive Based Risk Sharing Agricultural Lending Scheme (GIRSAL) in 2018. A little more than three years on, GIRSAL has provided some three hundred and forty-seven million cedis (GH¢347 million) of guarantees, covering loans of some seven hundred and twelve million cedis (GH¢712 million) to some one hundred (100) agribusinesses. These businesses are engaged in sale of agricultural inputs, direct production, aggregation, processing, marketing and exports. The guarantees have contributed to lower interest rates for borrowers. To boost further financing for agribusinesses, Government has established the Development Bank of Ghana, capitalised, initially, at seven hundred and fifty million euros (€750 million), which will prioritise agriculture in its activities.
Ghana Cares
Under the Cares Obaatampa programme, provision has also been made to enhance access to affordable financing for agribusinesses. A fifty percent (50%) interest rate subsidy is provided to agribusinesses in selected value chains, namely rice, maize, soya bean, tomato, and poultry. This complements the Outgrower and Value Chain Fund, which was established eleven (11) years ago to provide medium to long-term financing at significantly reduced interest rates. Under the Savanah Investment Project, two million dollars ($2 million) is also earmarked to provide credit to poultry value chain actors, especially those in processing.
YouStart programme
Government has launched the YouStart programme to provide training, entrepreneurial skills and financial support to entrepreneurial youth within the age bracket of 18 to 40 years, to help them start, build and grow their businesses. The YouStart will be a very important vehicle for equipping the youth to enter into agro-based businesses such as input distribution, marketing and value addition, leveraging on digital technology. I use the opportunity to encourage the District Assemblies and faith-based organizations to support the youth to take advantage of the programme.
Chairperson, the overwhelming evidence points to an impressive performance of Government in pursuit of its agricultural modernisation and transformation agenda.
From an average of 3.8% in the 5-year period from 2012 to 2016, average annual growth nearly doubled to 6.3% in the period 2017 to 2021. In the most recent years, the sector growth increased strongly from 4.7% in 2019 to 7.4% in 2020 and 8.4% in 2021 – the highest annual performance in the Fourth Republic.
This sterling performance compares with the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme’s (CAADP) benchmark target of 6% growth of agriculture for the attainment of national food security.
Ironically, the highest growth rates posted were in 2020 and 2021 when the COVID-19 Pandemic and other negative forces, such as climate change and outbreak of diseases, were impacting the sector.
Going forward, Government will deepen investments in these areas, and build on the achievements so far through additional interventions.
Measures to Promote Import Substitution
As part of measures to ameliorate the current economic difficulties, I have already outlined policy measures to curtail the imports of some food commodities, for which we have comparative advantage. We will use the opportunity of this crisis to accelerate the agriculture modernisation and transformation agenda.
This effort will require strong intersectoral coordination at all levels, and effective engagement and collaboration with the private sector and all other stakeholders in the agriculture ecosystem.
Consequently, institutions such as the TCDA and pipeline strategic institutions, like the Grains Development Authority, will be strengthened and supported to deliver effectively on their strategic mandate. We will also co-ordinate effectively with our foreign partners, leveraging their technical and financial resources to support this effort.
Grains Development Authority
Ghana has an untapped potential for grain production that can be exploited to feed the West Africa Region and beyond. This is evident in the loads of grains, such as maize, rice and soya, exported to neighbouring countries such as Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin and Ivory Coast in the last three years.
To unlock the potential of the grain industry, a Bill is before Parliament requesting for approval to amend the erstwhile Grain Development Authority Act, 1970 (Act 234) to provide for the establishment of a body corporate to regulate, promote and coordinate development of the grain industry. The Authority, with private sector participation, will coordinate actors in the grain industry to achieve higher productivity, gain market access and increase value addition. This effort will also maximize the benefits from the grain sector through effective regulation.
Fisheries
The Fisheries and Aquaculture sector is an essential component of our nation’s economic development, providing employment to some three million people. Promoting value addition in the fisheries sector will not only ensure that Ghanaians have access to different fish products, but will also help protect the investment of actors in the value chain, improving exports, and creating additional job opportunities.
Government will continue to implement sustainable fisheries management measures to help conserve the dwindling marine fisheries resources and sustain the sector for future generations. The development of the aquaculture industry will also continue to receive Government support, as part of efforts to reduce our dependence on our marine fisheries resources.
I am happy to announce that Cabinet has granted three (3) key approvals to the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development for (i) the automation of premix fuel distribution at landing beaches, (ii) the implementation of a new National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy, and (iii) the preparation of a new Fisheries Act to replace the current Act 625. These approvals are important for the sustainable management of marine fisheries resources and development of aquaculture.
The Ministry is also at an advanced stage with regard to the implementation of Cabinet’s decision for the acquisition of one (1) Research Vessel and four (4) Patrol Boats for the fisheries sector. The Research Vessel would facilitate regular fisheries research and stock assessment that would enhance data availability for science-based fisheries management, whilst the Patrol Boats will enhance the enforcement capacity to curb the pervasive incidence of illegal and unregulated fishing and related activities in our territorial waters.
To our artisanal fishers, I say I am also aware of the challenges regarding the distribution and sale of premix fuel to artisanal fishers. To address this, premix distribution activities at landing beaches will be automated by the close of December 2023. The first three (3) of the pilot phase is almost completed at Elmina, and would be commissioned in January 2023. Government is engaged in discussions with Bulk Distribution Companies to address supply challenges with regards to premix.
Chairperson, it is fairly obvious that a lot has been achieved in the sector, with many more projects and initiatives in the pipeline. At full maturity, these interventions will help consolidate the gains already made, strengthen the resilience of Ghana’s food system, and ensure sustainable food security.
Before I conclude, fellow Ghanaians, I want to point out again that our nation finds itself in considerable economic difficulties. It is important, therefore, that we put in place the relevant measures to address the hydra-headed economic challenges confronting us.
The 2023 Budget presented to Parliament by the Minister for Finance seeks to address these economic challenges through a number of very difficult, but necessary measures. These measures include a debt operation to address our fiscal and debt sustainability concerns. Debt operations alone will not be enough to address the debt sustainability concerns. It is for this reason that we are complementing the debt operations with fiscal adjustments, through improvement in revenue collection and expenditure rationalisation measures, to promote debt and fiscal sustainability. This is why the Minister for Finance outlined a number of revenue and expenditure measures for the consideration and approval of Parliament.
These revenue measures include a proposed increase in VAT rate by 2.5%, the review of the e-Levy rate from 1.5 percent to 1 percent and removal of the one hundred cedi (GH¢100) threshold; removal of selected VAT exemptions; implementation of the VAT e-invoicing system; revision of selected excise taxes; complete removal of discount on benchmark values; implementation of the unified property rate collection; and review of the National Fiscal Stabilisation Levy (NFSL) to include all entities which are critical in supporting the fiscal consolidation process.
The fiscal adjustment envisaged is not only on the revenue side, but also on the expenditure side. Government is proposing significant expenditure rationalization measures, including a lowering of the cap on transfers to earmarked funds from 25 percent to 17.5 percent; review of Government flagship programmes to reflect relevance, promote efficiency, and ensure value for money; continue with the thirty percent (30%) cut in the salaries of the President, Vice President, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, MMDCEs, and political office holders including those in state-owned enterprises; manage public sector wage negotiations and hiring within budgetary constraints; and integrate the public procurement approval processes with GIFMIS and budget allocation.
There are other key public expenditure measures which seek to demonstrate government’s burden sharing in addressing the economic challenges facing us. These measures, which range from reducing fuel allocation, the size of convoys, the suspension of the creation of new government agencies, to a ban on the use of V8 vehicles, are expected to reduce spending towards fiscal sustainability.
Fellow Ghanaians, I am optimistic that all these fiscal measures, together with the debt operations and the implementation of key structural reforms to eliminate the structural bottlenecks in the economy outlined in the 2023 Budget, will go a long way to address the economic challenges.
I call on all Ghanaians, in these difficult times, to support these fiscal measures that the Government has proposed for approval by Parliament, to enable us achieve the goal of restoring macroeconomic stability and promoting inclusive growth, whilst protecting the poor. I would like to use this occasion to make a special appeal to Organised Labour, which has proved to be a stalwart, principled ally of my government in our collective efforts, over these last six (6) years, to build a strong Ghanaian economy, to continue its dialogue with its Social Partners to find rapidly an acceptable solution to the ongoing salary negotiations, a solution which is realistic and fair.
Finally, I want to end with a request on each one of us. Our economy suffers from another structural weakness, which we must address with urgency. Ghana has the second largest economy in West Africa, but with the lowest tax-to-GDP ratio of some twelve percent (12%), within the context of an average of eighteen percent (18%) in the ECOWAS Region. It is absolutely essential for our future, if we are to realise our goal of a Ghana Beyond Aid, that we make rapid strides to meet the eighteen percent (18%) and even higher target, in order to strengthen our self-reliance and our capacity to finance our own development. It is in this light that I am calling strongly for support for the measures that the Minister for Finance outlined in the budget proposals, which will enhance significantly revenue mobilisation. It should be obvious to all of us by now that we can only rely on ourselves to build the Ghana we want.
Alfred Neizer, Head of SME and SoHo at Vodafone Ghana, said during this year’s Association of Rural Banks Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Excellence Awards: “Lockdowns caused banks to move nearly the whole client experience online.
Many banks have kept up this digital customer journey even as their companies recover from the pandemic’s consequences because they personally saw the potential of technology to link them with consumers in meaningful ways.”
He said that technology has proven to be a powerful force in helping the banking sector in challenging times, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. He also added that the effective use of technology is the best way to stay agile and resilient in this economic climate.
“The current economy is difficult, especially for rural banks. However, success is assured for banks that decide to use technology to innovate their offers,” he said.
He further assured rural banks of Vodafone’s continued commitment to supporting them with custom-made, technology-driven solutions. Mr Neizer says that these solutions have led to better operations, more flexible businesses, and stronger businesses.
Mr Neizer also urged rural and commercial banks to take advantage of Vodafone Ghana’s dedicated, cost-effective internet connectivity, Your Business Online (YBOL) service, and other solutions, to become more resilient banks and improve their customer experience.
The business community and MSMEs are also looking to the government to encourage their growth and coordinate policies that will help them integrate into the value chains of large corporations operating in Ghana and on other African markets.
These are some of the findings from KPMG Ghana’s auditing and accounting firm’s 2023 pre-budget survey.
The business community is requesting Government to maintain the initiatives already in place and introduce further measures that will mainstream MSMEs into the value chains of large scale companies and markets in Ghana and across the world.
According to the survey published by myjoyonline.com yesterday, the respondents’ believed that if MSMEs received more support in the area of access to market, it would boost growth and scale up to benefit from the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) to promote sustainable job creation.
“A targeted government support in terms of providing access to finance and integration into value chains and markets is very critical.The survey reflects the general sentiment of the business community on the economy and provides a platform for government to get access to some recommendations from industry players,” the report stated.
In October 2022, KPMG surveyed about 100 leading businesses in Ghana and obtained responses from 70 of them.
The questions for the survey were designed to measure their perceptions of the business environment and the fiscal regimes as they impact their operations.
The report comes at a time when the economy is facing macro-economic challenges such as rising inflation, interest rate and severe pressure on the Ghanaian cedi against the major trading currencies.
Businesses, households and individuals are eagerly anticipating the direction of government’s policy in bringing some respite amid an ongoing discussion with the IMF.
She claims that this success is the result of the embassy and trade agency supporting the trade missions of Ghanaian businesses.
The seventh iteration of the Italian Cuisine and Wine Week, with the theme “Conviviality, Sustainability and Innovation: The Ingredients of Italian Cuisine to keep us Healthy and Protect the Environment,” was held in the ambassador’s residence when she made this remark.
Speaking in relation to this business growth, Madam D’Orlandi said: “So far, some 30 companies and over 80 Ghanaian businessmen have travelled to Italy. And at the same time, at the end of November we expect 20 companies from Italy will come here to Ghana and take part in the twin Plus Pack and Agro Food Fair in Accra and meet with their counterparts. So, there will be more business opportunities available to Italians and Ghanaians for a mutually beneficial partnership.
“Also, it must be noted that here in Ghana there is the best of Italian food and wine. And in fact, many Ghanaian companies are taking part in this celebration because this season there are many prominent businessmen from Italy and also from Ghana… And for us, the embassy and Italian trade agency, we work together to promote moral opportunities for business between Ghanaian and Italian companies in all sectors, but with a special focus on agric business.”
To widen job opportunities in Ghana, the Ambassador highlighted that education is very important. Based on this, she said the embassy has started offering scholarships and opportunities for the youth through its Masters in entrepreneurship programme, which is developed together by the University of Professional Studies in Accra and the Catholic University of Milan.
She indicated that the next class is expected to graduate by the end of November 2022. It is estimated that 150 Ghanaian businessmen have benefitted from this opportunity and 2,000 jobs have been created.
Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (retired), Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency,has stated that Nigeria is the world’s most popular cannabis-using nation, with 10.6 million residents abusing the drug.
Marwa stated that Nigeria has a significant drug usage problem when speaking at the second Vanguard Mental Health Summit, which was sponsored by 9mobile and Guaranty Trust Bank Ltd.
He pointed out that before the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which was funded by the UNODC and revealed alarming results, the seriousness of the situation was unclear.
“Before then, the drug use profile of Nigeria was sketchy. The survey gave us facts for the first time and we got to know that Nigeria, as of 2018, had a 14.4 percent drug use prevalence.
“The average global drug use prevalence was 5.5 percent, at 14.4 percent. Nigeria has almost three times the global prevalence. “Without any doubt, the country has a serious substance abuse problem.
“The biggest revelation was that 10.6 million Nigerians abused cannabis. Again, this is a mere figure until you begin to figure it out in terms of the human impact. The ramification is that we have a cannabis-using population that is bigger than countries like Portugal and the United Arab Emirates.”
Marwa who was represented at the event by Zonal Commander, NDLEA, Lagos, Dr. Segun Oke, said: “In 22 months, the agency has arrested 20, 000 offenders and convicted 3,111 in court. We have seized 5.5 million kg of illicit drugs, destroyed 900 hectares of cannabis farms, and dismantled two illicit methamphetamine laboratories.”
He assured that next year will be tougher as a result of the amended NDLEA Act that will pave way for convicted traffickers to spend long years in jail without the option of a fine.
“We are also trying to present a counter-narrative to the wrong messages out there that brainwash young people to believe that illicit substances are harmless.”
In his keynote address, the Head, of the Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Lagos/ Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Lagos, Prof. Olatunji Aina, said the current economic situation of the country had worsened the mental health of Nigerians.
“A number of factors, namely poor planning, fiscal indiscipline, and policy somersault, could be ascribed to why Nigeria gradually walked her way into a distressed economy.
“The health of any given population is shaped by socio-economic context, employment, public policies, socio-demographic characteristics, and social welfare system of the country.
“There are strong research findings to show that changes in these key socio-economic determinants may be reflected in the mental health of the populace.
“Thus, the mental health of the people is vulnerable during economic distress or recession.
“In other words, economic recession and its associated problems such as unemployment, income decline and huge debts are significantly associated with poor mental health, increased rates of common mental disorders (anxiety and depression), psycho-active substance use disorders and suicidal behaviours.”
He explained that in the face of security and socio-economic challenges facing the country, prevalent mental health, complications include anxiety disorders, depression, sleep disorders, and suicide, among others.
Corroborating his views, the President of the World Medical Association, WMA, Dr. Osahon Enabulele, appealed to the Federal Government to assent to the Mental Health Bill to address the challenges of mental health in Nigeria.
Enabulele said about a billion people in the world, and one in every four Commonwealth citizens, particularly in the low and middle-income (LMICs) countries and pre-eminently among women and the younger age group 20-24 years, were known to be affected by one form of a mental health problem or the other.
“This is with about 80 percent of people unable to receive any form of treatment, a situation that leads to the loss of a trillion dollars annually.
“Unfortunately, during the COVID-19 pandemic, this burden of mental health is estimated to have increased by 25 percent.
“This was due to an interplay of factors, including economic fortunes and worsening poverty, increased resort to substance use, and the disruption of mental health services, including emergency psychiatric services.”
The bank claims that the COVID-19 pandemic’s experiences and lessons have increased the need for governments to be more strategic in responding to shocks, not only by identifying appropriate interventions but also by ensuring that systems that can be modified for the delivery of these interventions are present.
At a knowledge-sharing workshop for stakeholders, Senior Social Protection Specialist at the World Bank, Christabel Dadzie, noted that social protection interventions are fundamental in responding to shocks such as national disasters, economic crises, pandemics, conflicts and forced displacements – which are usually transient in nature – to cushion affected persons, especially the vulnerable, to mitigate impacts of the shock event and prevent them from adopting negative coping mechanisms.
Ghana had a population of 30.8 million in 2021. In 2017, it was reported that 2.4 million people were living in severe poverty. Within the country, poverty levels vary drastically by location – with much higher rates in rural areas and various administrative districts. Rural regions had a poverty rate of 39.5 percent overall in 2016–17 compared to 7.8 percent in urban areas. In rural regions, there were 15.6 percent of people living in extreme poverty compared to 1 percent in urban areas.
“With social protection in particular, we all know that the poorest and most vulnerable are invariably the ones affected by shocks. So actually, even before COVID, we had been working with the Ministry of Gender to take a look at how there can be a systematic response to shocks when they do happen; and then fast forward to COVID-19 taking place, it highlighted the importance for us not to provide only sporadic responses.
“We’re supporting the ministry with other development partners to take a look at this critical issue, which is aimed at responding to shocks in a systematic manner by putting together a national strategy. And so we’re leveraging the World Bank’s convening power to bring people together like you’ve done today,” Ms. Dadzie said.
Ghana’s shock-response in the past has however been sporadic and exposed limitations: including absence of committed funding and ready data for beneficiary targetting; weak coordination among the various stakeholders in the delivery chain; and lack of clarity with respect to channels for delivery and response timelines.
Speaking to business leaders and stakeholders, Dr. Prempeh took advantage of the occasion to reiterate his commitment to local participation and content, which, in his view, is the means by which the nation may generate value through the use of the hydrocarbon resource.
The Minister said in spite of the fact that the energy transition concerns keep growing by the day, with calls for reduction in the production and consumption of fossil fuels, the rate of growth of alternative energy sources are not keeping up with pace to replace fossils fuel in the global energy mix.
“This has led to the recognition that oil and natural gas play critical roles in today’s energy and economic systems, and that, affordable and reliable supplies of liquids and gases (of different types) are necessary parts of a vision of the future. This could be possible if the oil and gas industry takes the necessary steps to deploy the requisite technologies in their E&P activities to minimise the adverse impacts of their operations on the climate. As such, it opens a way – which some companies are already following – for the oil and gas industry to engage with the “grand coalition” that we in Ghana considers essential to tackle climate change” he said.
The Manhyia South lawmaker further said the sustainability of local content development in Ghana’s upstream oil and gas sector depends on a healthy pipeline of E&P projects and activities underpinned by its highly prospective sedimentary basin and attractive fiscal regime. Within the last five (5) years, six significant discoveries have been made offshore Ghana, of which five (5) are pending appraisal and development.
“With a healthy pipeline of oil and gas discoveries awaiting development, Ghana’s crude oil production is forecast to reach about 400,000 barrels per day and 600 MMscf of natural gas export per day by 2028. This growth in oil and gas production is expected to be unlocked through the upside maturation of already discovered reserves and the development of new discoveries” the Energy Minister noted.
Dr. Prempeh however said the vision of government for the energy sector is to develop a modern, diversified, efficient, and financially sustainable “Energy Economy” that will ensure that all Ghanaian homes and industries have access to an adequate, reliable, affordable and environmentally-sustainable supply of energy to meet their needs and to support the accelerated growth and development agenda we all envisage for the country.
The role he said of the petroleum sector, especially within the natural gas sub-sector in achieving this vision cannot be overemphasized.
“It is expected that indigenous gas production will not only offer the nation a clean energy source to meet Ghana’s commitments under the Paris Agreement, but also cost-effective fuel for power generation on reliable basis” he added.
The 2022 edition of the Local Content Conference marks the return of the conference to its in-person nature after it halted due to the limitations of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The event which ends on Thursday, November 24, 2022 is expected to provide opportunities for networking towards the development of not only local content but the entire upstream petroleum industry.
He claims that the rise in gas costs is intolerable and that it is causing the populace unwarranted pain.
He stressed that he now shells out a whopping GHC 1,300.00 every weekend to fuel the same car that he previously purchased for GHC 560.00.
“ The recent persistent price hikes in petroleum products have become a great concern to the ordinary Ghanaian. Prices of petroleum products have increased over the years, with this year witnessing the most astronomical increase. At the beginning of the year, the government made the ordinary Ghanaian understand that the increasing prices of petroleum products were due to external factors like post-COVID-19 pandemic challenges and the Russia-Ukraine war. However, a detailed assessment showed that government-controlled variables, such as taxes and levies on petroleum products and the weakening strength of the Ghana Cedi, are mainly responsible for the persistent fuel price hikes.
“The increases in petroleum prices are unbearable, bringing untoward hardship to the citizenry. As an MP, it used to cost me GHC 560.00 to fuel my Toyota Fortuner (2.7-liter engine) while driving from Accra to my constituency, Gomoa West, a few months ago. Because of recent price increases in petroleum products, I now have to pay a whopping GHC 1,300.00 every weekend to fill up the same vehicle used to perform parliamentary duties in the constituency, excluding weekday fuel costs to Parliament. Imagine how much a parliamentarian representing the people of Nandom (830 km from Accra) will spend on fuel to visit the constituents on weekends. Moreover, the fare of VIP buses from Accra to Kumasi has risen from GHC 80.00 to GHC 120.00 in the last two weeks. A 90 km journey from Circle to Koforidua costs GHC 43.00, up from GHC 31.00 in October 2022,” the MP said on the floor of parliament last Friday.
Some of the measures he proposes include the government subsidizing prices with revenue from crude oil windfall profits; suspending petroleum taxes and levies until the price per litre falls below GHC 10.00 and 6 and taking a second look at the cost of discharging petroleum products in Ghana, especially at the port and CBM charges which are the highest in the sub-region.
He also called on the government to compel the Metro Mass Transit and Bus Rapid Transit System (Ayalolo) to provide adequate and cheaper public buses to ease the transportation hardship on Ghanaians.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has told business leaders that the days of “cheap labour” must end in order to wean the UK off its “immigration dependency.”
Sir Keir advocated for a strategy to train British workers and transition the economy away from its “low-pay model.”
He did, however, acknowledge the need for skilled foreign workers and promised a “pragmatic” approach to immigration.
His speech comes at a time when businesses are urging more migrant workers to help boost economic growth.
Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer delivered his speech to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) conference in Birmingham on Monday, following Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Mr Sunak told business leaders having “proper control of our borders” was one of the immediate benefits of Brexit and said curbing illegal migration was the “country’s number one priority right now”.
He spoke after CBI director-general Tony Danker said the UK needed more foreign workers to drive economic growth as the country faces a deep recession.
“People are arguing against immigration – but it’s the only thing that has increased our growth potential since March,” Mr Danker said.
There was considerably less migration during the Covid-19 pandemic than in previous years and the number of EU citizens moving to the UK has dropped since the UK left the European Union.
In his speech, Sir Keir set out what the UK’s immigration policy would look like under a Labour government, should the party win the next general election.
He promised an immigration system that works better for the needs of business and recognises the need for skilled workers from abroad.
But he stressed that any changes to a points-based migration system “will come with new conditions for business”.
“We will expect you to bring forward a clear plan for higher skills and more training, for better pay and conditions, for investment in new technology,” he said.
“But our common goal must be to help the British economy off its immigration dependency. To start investing more in training up workers who are already here.”
Sir Keir outlined Labour’s plans for reform including:
Ensuring all employers able to sponsor visas are meeting decent standards of pay and conditions
Speed up visa delays to avoid labour shortages damaging the economy
Introduce training and plans for improving pay and conditions for roles that require international recruitment
Reforming the migration advisory committee to project future trends more accurately
Sir Keir spoke about immigration in an interview with the BBC last week, saying the UK was recruiting too many people from overseas into the NHS.
Keir Starmer believes, we are told, that there needs to be a fundamental rethink that involves training the domestic workforce rather than relying on immigration.
But there is a political calculation too.
Sir Keir wants to persuade the old Labour heartlands which voted for Brexit that he understands some of the concerns about high levels of immigration.
He also wants to try and convince them he is serious about making Brexit work – without freedom of movement.
But not everyone in the Labour Party will agree with the tone or the substance of his speech.
The rise of legal migration to the UK was one of the most prominent political issues in the country ahead of the EU referendum in 2016.
Former Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron once promised to get immigration down to the tens of thousands a year.
Net migration – the difference between people coming to the UK and those leaving – has been over 200,000 since the late 1990s.
Asked how Labour’s policy differed from that of the Conservatives, shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said his party would demand businesses implement better pay and conditions, particularly in the care sector.
He also said Labour would introduce flexibility to the apprenticeship levy, so companies could spend the money on other forms of training.
Under Sir Keir’s leadership, Labour has ruled out a return to the EU single market, which guarantees citizens of member states the freedom to live and work anywhere in the bloc.
Labour’s policy on Brexit has divided the party, with some calling for a much closer relationship with the EU on different terms.
Sir Keir’s speech comes as Mr Sunak denied that ministers could look to realign the UK with EU laws.
Some Tories have been angered by suggestions the government was weighing up a Swiss-style relationship with the EU.
But the prime minister told the CBI conference on Monday that the UK “will not pursue any relationship with Europe that relies on alignment with EU laws”.
Players in the financial sector have been asked to improve their role as gatekeepers to safeguard assets.
Theophilus Kwadjo Odjer-Bio, Executive Director of the Chartered Compliance and Cyber Analyst (CCCA) Institute, asserted that playing the gatekeeper in the anti-laundering ecosystem would aid in identifying and thwarting fraudsters and cybercriminals who preyed on the defenseless.
Mr. Odjer-Bio was presenting at the University of Ghana Business School’s graduation and ongoing growth program in Legon.
He said online fraud had become common because of the COVID-19 pandemic as companies and individuals had moved more of their activities online, thus, the need to protect customers.
Much of those crimes affected individuals and small businesses that were less able to protect themselves with victims mostly being unemployed, he said.
Mr Odjer-Bio said apart from the fraud and cyber attacks affecting individuals and businesses, they affected the confidence level in the financial systems.
“It must be a priority to show that financial institutions with which the public entrusts its savings and the regulators who supervise them do care about these threats and address them proactively to reduce and prevent serious harm,” he said.
She urged users to report cyber attacks on the Cyber Security Authority portal within 24 hours.
She said keeping and publishing of indecent images of people was a crime and that one could be prosecuted.
Mrs OKwan-Duodu said a fine in cybercrime was as bad as incarceration, which could mar one’s record and must be avoided.
Mr Seth Nana Amoako, Head of Compliance Unit of the Financial Intelligence Centre and Chairman for the occasion, encouraged the graduands to make themselves relevant with the knowledge acquired.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) announced last week that its members at the majority of NHS employers across the UK had votedto strike.
Nurses have given the government five days to begin “detailed negotiations” on pay, or they will declare a December strike.
It comes as the chancellor pledged an extra £2.3 billion for the NHS over the next two years, as the health service deals with inflationary pressures.
NHS England has forecast a £7 billion funding shortfall for next year, which it cannot close with efficiency measures alone.
However, health officials are said to agree that the new funding is adequate in light of the fact that economists believe October’s inflation figure was the high point.
Last week, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) announced its members at the majority of NHS employers across the UK had voted to take strike action.
A health system in crisis
In a letter to the health secretary following Thursday’s autumn statement, RCN general secretary and chief executive Pat Cullen said recent meetings with Steve Barclay, while cordial in tone, had not resolved the issues at the heart of strike action.
“I must not let my members, nor the public confuse these meetings for serious discussions on the issues of NHS pay and patient safety,” she said in the letter.
“There is only value in meeting if you wish to discuss – in formal, detailed negotiations – the issues that have caused our members to vote for strike action.”
She added: “You have again asked to meet in the coming days and for this third occasion I must be clearer in my expectation.”
With record demand and waiting times, as well as a growing backlog ahead of what looks set to be a busy winter, the UK’s health and care system are facing a crisis.
Image: Pat Cullen leaving a meeting with the health secretary earlier this month
There are nursing staff shortages across the UK – made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic and cost of living crisis – with 60,000 unfilled nursing roles.
Data from the London School of Economics found the salaries of experienced nurses have declined by 20% in real terms over the last 10 years across most of the UK. This means nurses are effectively working one day a week for free.
The RCN is calling for a pay rise of 5% above inflation to combat this.
Strikes across the NHS
The RCN is not the only organisation threatening strike action within the NHS.
NHS workers in roles such as blood and transplant services were among nearly 10,000 people being balloted over action that could see them walk off the job as soon as January.
Unite union, which represents 100,000 NHS workers, said voting papers are going out across 36 NHS trusts and organisations in England and Wales.
The centenarian, who shared oral histories about her life and was honored for her volunteerism, died peacefully in Maryland on Monday, according to a friend
Virginia McLaurin, the centenarian who went viral for her dance with the Obamas in 2016, has died at 113.
McLaurin died Monday after spending “a few days in hospice,” according to a statement posted on her official Facebook page.
Her friend Deborah Menkart said in a statement that McLaurin died peacefully in Maryland, where her son Felipe Cardoso currently lives, per The New York Times.
Barack and Michelle Obama honored McLaurin in a tweet featuring the viral video of them dancing with McLaurin at the White House.
“Rest in peace, Virginia,” the former president and first lady said on Twitter. “We know you’re up there dancing.”
A video of the dance shared on the White House’s Facebook page has been viewed over 70 million times in the last six years.
“I thought I would never live to get in the White House. And I tell you, I am so happy,” she told the Obamas in the video. “And I’m here to celebrate Black history.”
The centenarian gained attention from the White House after recording short oral history clips about her life, according to a GoFundMe campaign started “to help her family with memorial services.”
She also volunteered as a UPO foster grandparent and advocated for “quality living conditions” with other tenants, the fundraiser says.
KATE PATTERSON FOR THE WASHINGTON POST VIA GETTY IMAGES
In 2013, McLaurin was honored in Washington D.C. for her volunteer work with students that have severe mental and physical disabilities, according to The Guardian and NBC affiliate WRC-TV. She was 104 years old at the time.
According to Monday’s Facebook post, McLaurin “spent decades volunteering 40 hours a week at schools after she retired.”
McLaurin was also “devoted” to church and watched services “regularly” on YouTube during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the fundraiser.
The centenarian had spent most of her time inside over the last few years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Monday’s statement on Facebook, but continued to connect with her fans and followers on social media.
“She lived an incredibly full life and appreciated all the love she received from people on this FB page and everywhere she went,” Monday’s post said.
The TDC has already paid an interim dividend of GHC1.2 million.
Mr Kofi Brako, Board Chairman of the company, announced the dividend at the second annual general meeting of TDC held in Tema.
“Matching the company’s desire to complete its projects on time with the shareholder’s expectations, the Board has resolved to pay an additional GHC1.2 million in dividends to bring the total dividend payment for the year to GH2C.4 million,” Mr Brako said.
Touching on TDC’s financial performance for 2021, the TDC Board Chairman said the company generated an income of GHC116.59 million in 2021, representing a growth of 20 per cent over GHC97.1 million in 2020.
The board chairman said TDC assets grew by 22.3 per cent from GHC 380.72 million in 2020 to GHC465.50 million in 2021, adding that shareholder’s fund also increased by 19.84 per cent from GHC270.96 million in 2020 to GHC325.11 million in 2021.
Mr Brako said TDC currently had several ongoing projects being funded from its internally generated funds, adding that in that regard it was important to plough back most of its profit to fund and complete them.
Mr Joseph Cudjoe, Minister of Public Enterprises, commended the TDC for its outstanding performance during the year under review and for winning the overall best-performing state-owned enterprise, as well as the overall best-performing specified entity for the year 2020 in the public enterprises league table.
Mr Cudjoe said TDC was working in line with the government’s vision of seeing State Owned Enterprises operating profitably and professionally to support the economy while obeying all laws regarding their operations.
Mr Abdulai Abanga, the Deputy Minister of Works and Housing, on his part, charged the TDC to consider expanding its operations outside the Tema acquisition areas to other parts of the country which need affordable houses.
Ms Alice Abena Ofori-Atta, the TDC Managing Director, in a report said long-term construction finance in Ghana remained one of the major constraints to real estate development for property developers and prospective homeowners.
Ms. Ofori-Atta added, however, that funding from private entities, Real Estate Investment Trusts, banks, and other financial institutions, among others, continued to lessen the funding gap though in a modest way.
She expressed optimism that as the real estate sector was expected to bounce back after the COVID-19 pandemic, TDC would continue to explore and take advantage of any opportunity that would emerge.
She said to enhance their performance and effectiveness amidst the new dynamics of competition within the sector, TDC was using some strategic initiatives and policy interventions such as the electronic rent collection system, the GCB Bank collection project, enterprise risk management, balanced scorecard, and staff training and development.
Some of the resolutions taken at the AGM were the receiving and adopting of the report of the Directors, Auditors, and Financial Statements for the year ending December 31, 2021.
Declaration of dividends for the year under review, as well as authorising the Directors to determine the remuneration of the Auditors, and to transfer GHC100 million from Retained Earnings Account to Stated Capital.
According to her, the prevalence of the disease continued to soar in the country and it was important that citizens take seriously the practice of regularly testing to know their sugar levels for prompt management and care.
Mrs Denyoh was speaking at a diabetes screening exercise organised by the Association at the Tema Station in Accra yesterday ahead of this year’s World Diabetes Day (WDD).
Marked every November 14, to coincide with the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting, who co-discovered insulin along with Charles Best in 1922, the WDD is celebrated to draw attention to multi-stakeholder efforts to tackling diabetes as a public health issue.
The president of NDAG, who is the chairperson of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), West Africa, expressed concern over the fact that majority of Ghanaians especially the youth were diabetic but were oblivious of it contributing to the high disease burden and mortality rate in the country.
“Between 2020 and now, diabetes has killed more people than COVID-19 but there is a fund for COVID-19, there are policies and guidelines for treatment and management yet diabetes, which is the third leading chronic non-communicable disease in the country hasn’t got.
Diabetes care needs attention because it has been neglected over the years and the government must intervene to reduce the disease prevalence,” she stated.
Mrs Denyoh mentioned the need for the government to implement policies that allow for citizens to stay physically active like “creating bicycle lanes, clearing pedestrian walkways, directing institutions like the Ghana Education Service among others to enforce physical education periods.”
Making reference to this year’s WDD theme; “Education to protect tomorrow,” the NDAG president called for greater attention on children and the youth to ‘save’ them from suffering the condition.
“If we are going to protect the future, then we have to protect our youth and we can do so by teaching them to eat right, right exercising habits, we must go back to our previous lifestyle where we used to play ampe etc, so that they can have more exercises.
“Unfortunately we are doing a lot of major roads and interchanges but there are no lanes for cycling, pedestrian walkways have been taken over etc and we hope that in the nearest future these things are addressed so people cycle more, walk more to stay active,” she said.
Further appealing to the government to cap or subsidise prices of diabetes products in the face of present economic hardship, Mrs Denyoh advised persons with diabetes to stick religiously to their medication, visit the hospital regularly, exercise regularly, and adhere strictly to diets recommended by their physicians.
“Being diagnosed or knowing is 50 percent solved and if you know and understand diabetes, you should know that no herbal product will flush out the condition from your system so I will entreat people who have been diagnosed with diabetes to continue taking their medication as prescribed, exercise, eat right and test often to maintain their sugar level,” she urged.
Former President John Dramani Mahama stated that the reason Ghana was facing economic challenges was because of the government’s reckless spending during the 2020 elections.
“It is quite clear, in our case, that it was the desire to win elections at all costs that got the government to engage in unbudgeted consumption expenditure to create an artificial feel-good factor before the election 2020. It is this overspending that led to the very large deficit that has undermined the economy,” he said.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has opined that the government’s poor and reckless management of the economy is due to overspending on the 2020 elections and not the effects of the pandemic.
The former leader says the current administration is only blaming their poor management of the economy for the economic effects of the Covid -19 pandemic.
Addressing the nation at the Kempinski hotel to end his tour of the 16 regions, Mr. Mahama said: “The government has attempted to conceal its appalling incompetence and recklessness in the management of the economy with the Covid-19 pandemic while the pandemic pose a global challenge to the global economy including ours.
“It is quite clear, in our case, that it was the desire to win elections at all cost that got the government to engage in unbudgeted consumption expenditure to create an artificial feel-good factor before election 2020. It is this overspending that led to the very large deficit that has undermined the economy.”
He further stated that all African countries were hit by the outbreak, but they managed their economy effectively.
“Data from our neighbours and other comparative countries in sub-Saharan Africa who were also ravaged by the Covid -19 clearly shows that almost all of them kept their economies within manageable limits and have not been through the economic crisis that Ghana finds itself in today.
“Covid-19 did not affect us any more extraordinarily than it did to Cote D’ Ivoire, yet their budget deficit for 2020 was 5.9 per cent, and their debt to GDP ratio stands at 49 percent. Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Niger and others have deficits below 7 percent while their debt to GDP is nowhere near the 80 percent that Ghana has recorded,” he said.
He added: “The undeniable effects of Covid-19 notwithstanding, it is evident from the above that the government placed its inordinate desire to win elections above prudent economic management, and that is why Ghanaians are going through much suffering now.
“Long before Covid-19 struck, red flags had emerged, signalling mismanagement of the economy, we drew attention to this, but no corrective action was taken.”
Minister for Railways Development, John Peter Amewu, has revealed that the inability of government and its partners to implement the Accra Skytrain Project is due to travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the minister, following pre-feasibility studies the parties were set to undertake a 9-month long feasibility studies to enable the project commence by January 2020.
However, this could not happen because the financiers pulled out of the transaction, causing the agreement to expire.
“The cost of the whole project, at that time, was projected at about US$1.9 billion after the initial pre-feasibility studies undertaken by Africa Investor. However, for a project of this magnitude and complexity, a very detailed feasibility study was required to form the basis for entering into a full concession agreement for its development,” he said.
“Africa Investor and GIIF were tasked to undertake the detailed feasibility study within nine months from date of signature as per the terms of the MoU to determine the feasibility and bankability of the project, after which work would have commenced by January 2020,” he added.
“Africa Investor later informed the ministry that in the light of COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions that prevailed at the time, their technical team could not travel to Ghana to undertake the feasibility studies. In this regard, therefore, their financiers pulled out of the transaction and the agreement automatically expired,” the minister told parliament, Tuesday.
The proposed Accra Train system is an integrated, elevated rail urban transit system that aimed at providing an efficient, cost-effective, reliable, safe and accessible public transport network in the Greater Accra Metropolitan area.
Government, through GIIF, signed a concession agreement in November 2018 with South African firm, Africa Investor, to construct the US$1.9billion Accra Skytrain project.
The Railway Ministry at the time was confident that the project was the solution to the Greater-Accra capital’s traffic congestion problems.
As a world-class mass transport system, the GIIF was optimistic that the project would create 5,000 jobs during its construction and further development of the capital.
Minister on revisiting the project
Mr. Amewu, in his response on the matter in parliament, further noted that even though a project of such sort is a bankable one and government may reconsider it, he does not see a skytrain project being done within the next three to four years.
“This project shows a very high level of bankability, and that was the triggering factor for continuing feasibly studies to extend the time for commencing the project. So the project, as it is, is really a bankable project. The ministry, of course, has an interest in such a very feasible and bankable project, and we will look at it when our situation improves.
“To construct a skytrain worth about US$1.9billion in three years, I still maintain is not possible. Not possible on two grounds; one has to do with the time period, and two has to do with the finances,” the minister stated.
According to him, a large chunk of the country’s imports is food-related products and commodities, making it necessary to concentrate on local food production for starters.
Speaking on the Eye on Port program, Mr. Afful who is the Executive Director of the APN Group, said Ghana as a country can look within its borders for the production of food with the support of economic policies that promote local production and exports while discouraging imports.
“At the end of the day, we can try with some of the commodities like rice. We do not need to look far beyond Africa. We can look within the AfCFTA member states and find out who can give us a comparative advantage then we can trade with them. The good news is that with the Pan African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) you do not need the dollar or forex, you can trade in your own local currency and the recipient receives it in his or her local currency,” he averred.
The AfCFTA strategist says not only will it save the falling cedi, but it will support local industries and feed into the Pan-African agenda intended to strengthen African economies.
He likened this proposal to the height of the COVID-19 pandemic where “in the United States for example where they had a national policy where companies with the productive capacity where called upon to temporarily abandon production of their core products and begin production of COVID-support products and they were supported heavily for this. We can take that approach. Can we examine the supply chain right from the farms and support these industries to produce for domestic consumption and export?”
He emphasized that it is no brainer that, overcapacity in selected food commodities will positively affect the price of goods on the market and the plight of the ordinary consumer will be alleviated.
Mr. Louis Yaw Afful said this while touching on President Nana Addo’s statement on the government’s intention to review the standards required for imports into the country.
The President of the Republic during his address to the public on the national economic crisis stated that “in May 2023, that is six (6) months from now, review the standards for imports into the country”.
Nana Akufo Addo said Ghana, “as a matter of urgent national security, will reduce our dependence on imported goods.”
The President hinted at rice, poultry, vegetable oil, toothpicks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water and ceramic tiles as focus products.
According to the Executive Director of the APN Group, Louis Yaw Afful, the implementation process for this review should begin immediately.
“The ministries and agencies under the President, by the time he had finished speaking, should be able to have a plan in place that aligns with what he said. They should have an inter-ministerial approach to dealing with this,” he expressed.
He says a similar inter-ministerial, inter-agency approach was adopted during the rollout of the National AfCFTA policy and Action Plan which he lauded.
Minister for Railways Development, John Peter Amewu, has revealed that the inability of government and its partners to implement the Accra Skytrain Project is due to travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the minister, following pre-feasibility studies the parties were set to undertake a 9-month long feasibility studies to enable the project commence by January 2020.
However, this could not happen because the financiers pulled out of the transaction, causing the agreement to expire.
“The cost of the whole project, at that time, was projected at about US$1.9 billion after the initial pre-feasibility studies undertaken by Africa Investor. However, for a project of this magnitude and complexity, a very detailed feasibility study was required to form the basis for entering into a full concession agreement for its development,” he said.
“Africa Investor and GIIF were tasked to undertake the detailed feasibility study within nine months from date of signature as per the terms of the MoU to determine the feasibility and bankability of the project, after which work would have commenced by January 2020,” he added.
“Africa Investor later informed the ministry that in the light of COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions that prevailed at the time, their technical team could not travel to Ghana to undertake the feasibility studies. In this regard, therefore, their financiers pulled out of the transaction and the agreement automatically expired,” the minister told parliament, Tuesday.
Prior to this development, the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) had made initial payment of some US$2million to Africa Investor Holdings Limited toward the project.
The Accra Skytrain Project
The proposed Accra Train system is an integrated, elevated rail urban transit system that aimed at providing an efficient, cost-effective, reliable, safe and accessible public transport network in the Greater Accra Metropolitan area.
Government, through GIIF, signed a concession agreement in November 2018 with South African firm, Africa Investor, to construct the US$1.9billion Accra Skytrain project.
The Railway Ministry at the time was confident that the project was the solution to the Greater-Accra capital’s traffic congestion problems.
As a world-class mass transport system, the GIIF was optimistic that the project would create 5,000 jobs during its construction and further development of the capital.
Minister on revisiting the project
Mr. Amewu, in his response on the matter in parliament, further noted that even though a project of such sort is a bankable one and government may reconsider it, he does not see a skytrain project being done within the next three to four years.
“This project shows a very high level of bankability, and that was the triggering factor for continuing feasibly studies to extend the time for commencing the project. So the project, as it is, is really a bankable project. The ministry, of course, has an interest in such a very feasible and bankable project, and we will look at it when our situation improves.
“To construct a skytrain worth about US$1.9billion in three years, I still maintain is not possible. Not possible on two grounds; one has to do with the time period, and two has to do with the finances,” the minister stated.
Critics say Biden’s plan, which would forgive up to $20,000 in student loan debt,goes too far.
A federal judge in Texas has blocked US President Joe Biden’s signature plan to forgive thousands of dollars in student debt.
The decision by District Court Judge Mark Pittman, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, comes on the heels of a separate federal lawsuit filed by six Republican-led states: Arkansas, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Carolina.
“In this country, we are not ruled by an all-powerful executive with a pen and a phone. Instead, we are ruled by a Constitution that provides for three distinct and independent branches of government,” Pittman wrote in his decision.
“The Court is not blind to the current political division in our country. But it is fundamental to the survival of our Republic that the separation of powers as outlined in our Constitution be preserved.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Democrat administration disagreed with the ruling and had filed an immediate appeal.
Biden’s plan, announced in August, would cancel $10,000 in student loan debt for those making less than $125,000 or households with less than $250,000 in income. Pell Grant recipients, a category reserved for students in significant financial need, would get an additional $10,000 in debt forgiven.
The programme was widely popular among young people, and was credited with energising the youth vote in the 2022 midterm elections.
“The President and this Administration are determined to help working and middle-class Americans get back on their feet, while our opponents — backed by extreme Republican special interests — sued to block millions of Americans from getting much-needed relief,” Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
The ruling stemmed from a lawsuit by two borrowers who were partially or fully ineligible for Biden’s loan forgiveness plan. The plaintiffs argued the programme did not follow proper rule-making processes and was unlawful.
They were backed by the Job Creators Network Foundation,a conservative advocacy group founded by Bernie Marcus, a co-founder of the building-supply chain Home Depot.
The legal challenges have created confusion about whether borrowers who expected to have debt cancelled will have to resume making payments come January 1, when a pause prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic is set to expire.
About 26 million people in the US have applied for student loan forgiveness, and the US Department of Education has already approved requests from 16 million, according to the White House.
While the stay that followed the legal challenge brought by the six states temporarily stopped the administration from actually clearing debt, the White House has encouraged borrowers to continue applying for relief, saying the court order did not prevent applications or the review of applications.
The Biden administration has argued the plan was legal under existing legislation that allowed the secretary of education to “waive or modify any statutory or regulatory provision applicable to the student financial assistance programs … as the Secretary deems necessary in connection with a war or other military operation or national emergency”.
In his 26-page ruling, Pittman said it was irrelevant if Biden’s plan was good public policy, calling it “one of the largest exercises of legislative power without congressional authority in the history of the United States”.
Michelle Obama said she struggled with a “crushing sense of hopelessness” after the 2020 presidential election that was brought on by the death and isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, a summer of political and racial unrest and the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
“I was in a low place,” she said. Then she got an idea.
“Everyone was searching for some answers of how to cope. And for some reason they were asking me, ‘What do you do?’ I had to start thinking about that,” the former first lady told People magazine in an interview pegged to Tuesday’s release of her second book, “The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times.” She is set to open a six-city book tour in Washington on that day.
In the book, former President Barack Obama’s wife, who is one of the world’s most famous women, tells how she steadies herself during these anxious times and how she works at overcoming her lifelong fear of change and doubts about herself.
“Over the 58 years that I’ve lived, I can look back and I can say, ‘This is how I deal with fear. These are the things I say to myself when I need to pick myself up. This is how I stay visible in a world that doesn’t necessarily see a tall Black woman,’” she said. “This is how I stay armored up when I’m attacked. The book is that offering.”
“I think people learn not through edict, but through stories,” she said. People posted a report on the interview on its website on Thursday, and it will appear in the magazine’s Nov. 21 issue, available nationwide on Friday.
Mrs. Obama, the mother of Sasha and Malia Obama, opens up in the book about everything from how awkward it is to make new friends to her experiences with racism, marriage, parenting and even menopause.
She also writes about leaning on a “kitchen table” of close girlfriends, led by her 85-year-old mother, Marian Robinson. The group includes Kathleen Buhle, a hiking and yoga pal who is the ex-wife of President Joe Biden’s son Hunter and the mother of Maisy Biden, Sasha Obama’s best friend.
In 2018, Mrs. Obama released her best-selling memoir, “Becoming,” and embarked on a U.S. and international book tour to promote it. The book has sold more than 17 million copies worldwide, surpassing the sales of any memoir by a previous first lady or modern president, including her husband.
In her new book, the former first lady describes looking in the mirror and only seeing her flaws, and how she practices being kind to herself.
She said she also copes by indulging in what her husband calls “lowbrow TV.”
“You name it, I watch it,” she said, naming HGTV, anything on the Food Channel and dating shows like “Married at First Sight” among her viewing choices.
The former first lady described herself as an informed citizen who reads the newspaper, gets briefs, sits with her husband every night and knows what’s happening in the world.
But she said that “when I’m by myself, I need to be able to turn my head off and think about wallpaper.”
Despite demonstrating a robust recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and impressive wealth gains that saw their combined net worth surpass $84.9 billion at the end of 2021 — an increase of 15 percent, or $4.7 billion when compared to their combined net worth of $73.8 billion in 2020 — many of Africa’s wealthiest billionaires are having difficulty making the Forbes 400 list in 2022.
With 14 of Africa’s 18 billionaires missing from this exclusive list, it’s critical to understand who these people are and what industry they work in, as well as their potential to join the list in the not-too-distant future.
Despite the fact that it now takes $6 billion to make the Forbes 400 richest list, up from $6.4 billion at the start of the year, African billionaires such as Nigerian telecom mogul Mike Adenuga, Algerian billionaire Issad Rebrab, and Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris rank among the 14 billionaires who are still far short of the $6-billion mark.
According to data tracked by Billionaires.Africa, these 14 billionaires are presently ranked in this order.
#1 Mike Adenuga
Net worth: $5.7 billion
Nationality: Nigerian
Mike Adenuga, the founder of Nigerian telecom company Globacom Limited and the majority owner of Nigeria’s pioneer petroleum marketer, Conoil Plc, is now the third-richest man in Nigeria, the seventh richest on the African continent, and the 426th richest person in the world.
His net worth has dropped by $1 billion since the beginning of the year, from $6.7 billion in January to $5.7 billion at the time of writing this report, due to a decline in the value of his stake in Globacom Limited, Nigeria’s third-largest telecom service provider.
#2 Issad Rebrab
Net worth: $5.1 billion
Nationality: Algerian
Issad Rebrab, the founder and CEO of Cevital and Algeria’s richest man, ranks 483rd in the world. The Algerian billionaire’s net worth has increased from $4.2 billion in 2020 to $5.1 billion at the time of writing this report, representing a net worth gain of $900 million.
His $5.1-billion fortune stems from the valuation of Cevital, his well-diversified manufacturing conglomerate, which has increased significantly due to increased capacity and robust earnings growth.
#3 Naguib Sawiris
Net worth: $3.4 billion
Nationality: Egyptian
According to Forbes, Naguib Sawiris, the elder brother of Egypt’s richest man Nassef Sawiris, is the second-wealthiest man in Egypt and the 815th richest man in the world, with a fortune of $3.4 billion.
The billionaire amassed his fortune after selling Orascom Telecom to Russian telecom firm VimpelCom (now Veon) in a multibillion-dollar transaction in 2011. He is presently a shareholder in Orascom TMT Investments and Ora Developers, a real estate developer.
#4 Patrice Motsepe
Net worth: $2.7 billion
Nationality: South African
With a net worth of $2.7 billion, Motsepe is the richest Black South African and the world’s 1,067th richest man. The majority of his wealth is derived in gross terms from his 40-percent stake in African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), a South African diversified mining and minerals company.
His net worth has dropped by $200 million as a result of the recent decline in the market value of his stake in ARM, a company he founded in 1997, from $2.9 billion to $2.7 billion at the time of writing this report.
#5 Mohammed Mansour
Net worth: $2.5 billion
Nationality: Egyptian
Mohamed Mansour, an Egyptian billionaire businessman and the world’s 1,151st richest man, is the chairman of Mansour Group, a family conglomerate worth more than $6 billion, according to Forbes.
Mansour derives the majority of his $2.5-billion net worth from the company, alongside his brothers Yasseen and Youssef Sawiris, who are also billionaires.
The Egyptian billionaire played a crucial role in the group’s growth, primarily through GM dealerships in Egypt, which he established in 1975.
Mansour Group has since grown into one of the biggest GM distributors worldwide.
#6 Koos Bekker
Net worth: $2.1 billion
Nationality: South African
Koos Bekker is a South African billionaire businessman and the chairman of Naspers, a leading South African multinational media group.
He was instrumental in the establishment and growth of Prosus, a Naspers subsidiary established as the company’s global Internet assets division under Bekker’s leadership.
The majority of the South African billionaire’s wealth is derived from his holdings of Naspers and Prosus. Since the start of the year, his net worth has decreased from $2.7 billion to $2.1 billion.
#7 Mohamed Al Fayed
Net worth: $1.8 billion
Nationality: Egyptian
Mohamed Fayed, an Egyptian businessman and retail mogul whose primary residence and business interests have been in the United Kingdom since the late 1960s is the world’s 1,504th richest man, according to Forbes, with a net worth of $1.8 billion.
Fayed amassed a fortune in retail after selling his stakes in the London department store Harrod’s to Qatar in a deal valued at $2.4 billion in 2010. Following the sale of Fulham Football Club in 2013, he received a whopping $300 million from U.S. auto parts billionaire Shahid Khan.
#8 Aziz Akhannouch
Real-time net worth: $1.8 billion
Nationality: Moroccan
Aziz Akhannouch is a Moroccan businessman and the country’s Prime Minister since September 2021. His fortune is derived from the Akwa Group, a Moroccan conglomerate with oil and gas investments.
The company also has interests in telecommunications, tourism, hotels, and real estate. The Afriquia brand is used by its service stations.
Akhannouch has a net worth of $1.8 billion, making him one of Africa’s wealthiest men and the world’s 1,586th richest man, according to Forbes.
#9 Mohammed Dewji
Net worth: $1.5 billion
Nationality: Tanzanian
Mohammed Dewji is a Tanzanian billionaire businessman and former politician. He is the owner and CEO of MeTL Group, a Tanzanian conglomerate founded in the 1970s by his father.
MeTL Group has active operations in East, Southern, and Central Africa in textile manufacturing, flour milling, beverages, and edible oils.
Dewji has an estimated net worth of $1.5 billion as of press time, making him the world’s 1,784th richest person and the African continent’s youngest billionaire.
#10 Youssef Mansour
Net worth: $1.5 billion
Nationality: Egyptian
Like his younger brothers, Mohamed and Yasseen Mansour, Youssef Mansour, a director in the family-led Mansour Group, is worth more than $1 billion.
With a net worth of $1.5 billion, the Egyptian billionaire businessman who co-owns Mansour Group with his brothers ranks 1,854th in the world.
He is in charge of the consumer goods division, which includes the Metro supermarket chain and the exclusive distribution rights for L’Oreal in Egypt.
#11 Michiel Le Roux
Net worth: $1.4 billion
Nationality: South African
Michiel Le Roux is a South African billionaire businessman and the founder of Capitec Bank, one of Africa’s largest retail banks.
According to Forbes, the billionaire is worth $1.4 billion, making him the world’s 1,941st richest man.
His net worth has dropped by $300 million since the beginning of the year, from $1.7 billion on Jan. to $1.4 billion at the time of writing.
#12 Strive Masiyiwa
Net worth: $1.2 billion
Nationality: Zimbabwean
Zimbabwe’s richest man Strive Masiyiwa presently ranks as the world’s 2,132nd richest man, with a net worth of $1.2 billion.
Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, which he founded in 1998, has grown to become the country’s largest mobile phone company.
He owns slightly more than half of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, which is part of his larger Econet Group. The company has stakes in mobile phone networks in Burundi and Lesotho, as well as investments in African fintech and power distribution firms.
#13 Yasseen Mansour
Net worth: $1.1 billion
Nationality: Egyptian
Yasseen Mansour, Egypt’s sixth-richest man and the 2,294th wealthiest man in the world, owns a stake in the family-owned conglomerate Mansour Group.
Aside from his business interests in Mansour Group, Mansour is the chairman of Palm Hills Development, a leading Egyptian real estate group.
#14 Othman Benjelloun
Net worth: $1.1 billion
Nationality: Moroccan
According to Forbes, Othman Benjelloun, who is worth $1.1 billion at the time of writing this report, is the world’s 2,363rd richest man and one of Africa’s richest billionaires.
The Moroccan billionaire is best known for co-founding BMCE Bank of Africa, where he currently serves as chairman and CEO.
Based solely on market capitalization, Benjelloun’s stake in the bank was worth $4 billion in 2021.
After purchasing the Mali-based Bank of Africa, his banking firm BMCE Bank now has a presence in at least 12 African countries.
Mr. David Ofosu-Dorte, Executive Chairman at AB & David Law who gave the keynote address at the conference, urged businesses to stay true to their vision and mandate during times of crisis, saying: “It is easy for business leaders and entrepreneurs to abandon the core vision and mandate of their business in their bid to survive crisis situations. The courage to stay true to your vision during crisis defines your business”.
Dr. Alhasan Andani, former CEO of Stanbic Bank said: “Businesses and entrepreneurs should use a crisis as an opportunity to grow and learn from their mistakes”.
He encouraged participants to pay attention to crisis situations, be receptive and adaptive, and work to evolve their business while taking into account the legal and regulatory framework. “Businesses need to refine their strategies in light of changes in their markets,” he said.
The multi-stakeholder conference was the fifth in a series of conferences, and held under the theme ‘Growth Opportunities Within the Crisis’. It brought together high-level executives and thought leaders from across industries to discuss building resilient businesses by identifying opportunities during periods of economic crisis.
Globally, economies are slowing down this year and expected to slow further in the years ahead. This is due to several factors including high inflation, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a result, the global economy’s growth is expected to slow from 6 percent in 2021 to 3.2 percent in 2022 and 2.7 percent in 2023.
Ghana’s runaway inflation, coupled with weak government finances and the weakened cedi, is harming the country’s economy. Businesses and entrepreneurs are struggling to stay afloat in this crisis, which is causing some to fold-up because they cannot meet their operating costs.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Network has used its conference to share knowledge and expertise on how members and the general business community can leverage on the challenges presented by crisis to identify opportunities for growing their business.
In her remarks, Mrs. Linda Yaa Ampah (president of the Stanford Seed Transformation Network, Ghana and Founder of Cadling Fashions and KAD Manufacturing Ltd.) commended members of the Network for their resilience and ability to create and innovate in order to keep their businesses afloat during this time of economic uncertainty.
She bemoaned the current economic crisis and how it’s affecting businesses in Ghana.
“The Ghanaian business environment has become very challenging,” she said.
“There is generally high cost of doing business due to continuous depreciation of the cedi, rising cost of food and imports, a high debt burden, high inflation, high-interest rates and the rising cost of energy. These factors are expected to reduce growth in the short-term due to the current global recession.”
The private sector can help Ghana’s economy grow if government offers it the right conditions.
“Regulators and managers of the business environment need to follow discussions at the conference and provide the conditions which enable businesses to thrive and contribute even better to Ghana’s GDP by creating dignifying and fulfilling jobs for the youth,” she added.
Participants at the conference had the opportunity to network with like-minded individuals, gained new perspectives and practical strategies to upscale and transform businesses.
Crude oil prices have risen above $70 per barrel, according to ISSER, with major consequences for transportation costs, production costs, prices of goods and services, and livelihoods.
It recommended the government to take action to lessen the consequences on the economy, particularly on the impoverished people’s means of subsistence.
The Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) is charging the government to reduce the public debt stock to sustainable levels by 2024 through a prudent debt management strategy.
In its State of the Ghanaian Economy Report and Review of 2021 3rd Quarter Economic Performance, the research and economic think tank said debt service payments accounted for 62.1 percent of domestic revenue in 2020 (51.9 percent in 2019) and therefore require drastic action to bring the debt levels down.
In the second quarter of 2021, Interest payments accounted for about 45 percent of total tax revenue. This ISSER said limits the fiscal space, thereby affecting capital expenditure/Investments needed to stimulate further growth.
Furthermore, it also urged the government to increase support to businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to help accelerate the recovery process.
It pointed out that the negative impact of the pandemic on businesses despite the various intervention programmes instituted by the government indicates that government must do more to aid recovery in the economy.
On other recommendations, ISSER said, “crude oil prices have surged and above $70 per barrel with serious implications on transport fares, cost of production, prices of goods and services and livelihoods”. It, therefore, urged the government to take steps to minimize the effects on the economy especially the livelihood of the poor.”
ISSER recommended that since the COVID-19 Health Levy and the Financial Sector clean-up Levy seem to be performing better than the others, a critical assessment of these taxes is needed to ascertain whether they are efficient means of raising revenue rather than a “nuisance” tax that stifles private businesses.
Ghana recorded appreciable growth rates since 2020 with an oil Gross Domestic Product of 3.9 percent and non-oil GDP growth of 5.2 percent recorded in the second quarter of 2021.
Although the country is among the fastest-growing economies, ISSER said higher growth in labor-intensive sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing with high-value addition is very critical in order to avoid the jobless growth syndrome.
The private sector of Ghana’s economy continued to significantly deteriorate in October, with output, new orders, input inventories, and employment all seeing accelerating declines. In their remarks, the panelists hinted at the serious consequences of worsening cedi-dollar exchange rates, which they claimed had an impact on customer demand.
As a result, mood reached its lowest point in more than two and a half years, and businesses also expressed concern about the global macroeconomic environment.
Prices data, on the other hand, indicated significant rates of input-cost inflation, with purchase charges being particularly high.
However, the rate of overall input price inflation slowed down, but the rate of increase in selling prices picked up speed.
In reality, only August’s increase in output charges was higher than the current pace of growth.
The S&P Global Ghana Purchasing Managers’ Index™ posted below the neutral value of 50.0 for the ninth month in a row (44.0 in October from 45.6 in September), signalling another deterioration in business conditions. The latest result was the third-weakest in the survey’s history, exceeded only by that seen during the pandemic’s height in March and April 2020.
Central to the latest deterioration were accelerated falls in output and new orders. In fact, the rates of declines in both cases were the most pronounced since the pandemic’s initial phase (in March and April 2020), and the third-steepest in the survey’s history. According to panel comments, clients were deterred from placing orders in light of high prices. Firms scaled back their output levels in response to weaker demand.
Lower output requirements led firms to reduce their purchasing activity sharply, with the rate of decline quickest since April 2020. Pre-production inventory holdings were also cut, amid growing pressure on firms’ profits and weaker inflows of new work.
Ghanaian firms also reduced their headcounts during the month, with the rate of decline solid and the quickest since June 2020. Recent pressure on costs led firms to scale back on workforces, but they also blamed a lack of new orders.
Outstanding business at Ghanaian private sector firms fell, signaling ten consecutive months of decline. Moreover, the rate of backlog depletion was sharp and the quickest since March. Subdued demand conditions allowed firms to work through their incomplete work.
Vendor performance improved in October, signalling the fifteenth successive month of improvement. That said, lead times shortened at the weakest rate since start of the year.
Purchase costs continued to rise markedly, despite inflation softening to a three-month low. The rise was overwhelmingly linked to unfavourable cedi-dollar exchange rate movements. Despite moderating to a three-month low, the overall rate of input price inflation was substantial. In response, firms hiked their selling charges at the second-fastest rate in the survey’s history, with the latest increase outpaced only by that seen in August.
Ghanaian businesses foresee an expansion in output by October 2023, with firms hopeful that market conditions will stabilise and price pressures will ease. That said, the degree of optimism was weakest since start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
Shreeya Patel, Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence said: “The latest PMI data for Ghana signalled another marked deterioration in business conditions at start of the fourth quarter. Output and new orders fell sharply, with the rates of decline among the quickest in the survey’s history and surpassed only by those seen during the pandemic’s initial phase in March and April 2020. Consequently, firms grew less optimistic of their output expectations over the year-ahead, and cut their headcounts solidly.
“Recent performance largely reflected the unfavourable cedi-dollar exchange rate movements, which exerted upward pressure on costs and selling prices. The higher revisions to selling prices deterred customers from placing orders in October.
“The Ghanaian economy has struggled over the last year or so, and latest data suggests the troubling trading conditions are set to persist. Recent currency weakness has pushed the economy deeper into contraction territory, with businesses showing increased concern over the current environment. For now, firms hope that the currency recovers and price pressures subside.”
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said that his widely hailed statement about the government knowing how to bring the economy back to life at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic was not made in jest.
In his October 30 address on the economy, President Akufo-Addo pointed to the growth trajectory of the economy amid the pandemic.
He opined that the economy grew at a rate of 7% until Russia invaded Ukraine, further worsening the devastating impact Covid-19 had brought onto the economy.
“We could all see in real-time the devastation that was being wreaked on economies during the pandemic, but I doubt that anyone imagined the extent of the damage. Our economy here in Ghana, like many, many others around the globe, was thrown into turmoil.
“When I said, at the height of the COVID pandemic, that we knew what to do to bring the economy back to life, but not how to bring people back to life, it was not said in jest. We had done it before, and we were on course to doing it again. Ghana’s economy grew by a remarkable 5.4% in 2021, signifying a strong recovery from the 0.5% growth recorded the previous year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In fact, in the last quarter of 2021, our economy grew at seven percent (7%), only for the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the first quarter of this year to aggravate the effects of COVID-19 and plunge the global economy into even greater turmoil from which it has not yet recovered,” he said
During one of President Akufo-Addo’s Covid-19 updates in 2020, he emphasized the need for the government to focus on deploying measures to save human lives amid the ravaging pandemic.
“We know how to bring the economy back to life. What we do not know is how to bring people back to life,” he said.
The statement by the president won him plaudits from world leaders and heads of relevant agencies and non-governmental organizations.
In the midst of economic turmoil, with many Ghanaians reeling under economic hardship, they have asked the president to actualize his statement by restoring the economy.
ADDRESS TO THE NATION BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC, NANA ADDO DANKWA AKUFO-ADDO, ON THE ECONOMY, ON SUNDAY, 30TH OCTOBER 2022.
Fellow Ghanaians, good evening.
Back in 2020, at the outbreak of the Corona virus pandemic, I started a regular conversation with you that came to be popularly known as Fellow Ghanaians.
It was a time of great fear of the unknown, and the entire world felt at risk. I came into your homes regularly to tell you what the experts were discovering about the virus, and what we should do.
Now that we have seen the worst of the COVID-19, I can tell you that there were moments during those times when I was distraught, there were moments when I was in despair about the apparent inadequacy of our health facilities, and there were moments when I wondered if the dire predictions made about dead bodies on our streets would truly happen.
But I knew that I owed it to all of us that, as your president, I had to hold my nerve, show leadership and take us out of the crisis. With your help and support, and the great mercies of the Almighty, we can say that we emerged from the ravages of the pandemic with one of the lowest mortality rates globally. In fact, Ghana’s handling of the pandemic won universal acclaim.
We could all see in real time the devastation that was being wreaked on economies during the pandemic, but I doubt that anyone imagined the extent of the damage. Our economy, here in Ghana, like many, many others around the globe, was thrown into turmoil.
When I said, at the height of the COVID pandemic, that we knew what to do to bring the economy back to life, but not how to bring people back to life, it was not said in jest. We had done it before, and we were on course to doing it again. Ghana’s economy grew by a remarkable 5.4% in 2021, signifying a strong recovery from the 0.5% growth recorded the previous year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, in the last quarter of 2021, our economy grew at seven percent (7%), only for the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the first quarter of this year to aggravate the effects of COVID-19, and plunge the global economy into even greater turmoil from which it has not yet recovered.
The whole world has been taken aback by the speed with which inflation has eaten away people’s incomes. Economies, big and small, have experienced, over this year alone, the highest rise in cost of living over a generation; the highest rise in government borrowing in over fifty (50) years; the highest rise in inflation for forty (40) years; the steepest depreciation in their currencies to the US dollar over the last thirty (30) years; the fastest peak in interest rates for over twenty (20) years; and the greatest threat of unemployment in peace time; with over a hundred million people being pushed into extreme poverty.
Between the end of 2019 and now, inflation in Ghana has increased by five-fold, in Togo by sixteen-fold, by eleven-fold in Senegal, and by seven-fold in Cote d’Ivoire. In truth, however, the fact that there are petrol queues in France does not make it more tolerable that the trotro price from Kasoa to Circle has doubled in the past one year, nor does it make it any more tolerable that the price of cooking oil goes up every other week.
It is important to state that mentioning the increases in prices worldwide is not meant to belittle the scope of suffering here, but simply to help us put things into some perspective, and, hopefully, learn some useful lessons about how other people are coping.
Fellow Ghanaians, this is why I am back in your homes this evening to ask for your support, as we work together to get our economy back into good shape.
In April, after the Cabinet retreat of the first quarter, and recognising the deteriorating macroeconomy, my government announced a thirty percent (30%) cut in budgetted discretionary expenditures, and a thirty percent (30%) cut in salaries of the President, Vice President, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, MMDCEs and political office holders, amongst other measures.
And, since July, when the Government took the difficult decision to go to the IMF to seek support, I have been speaking publicly at different fora on the subject of the economic difficulties we face, especially during my recent tours, so far, of nine (9) regions, and interacting directly with you, the Ghanaian people. It is also true that many of you have felt the need for me to come back to the Fellow Ghanaians format, that brings us all together.
For us, in Ghana, our reality is that our economy is in great difficulty. The budget drawn for the 2022 fiscal year has been thrown out of gear, disrupting our balance of payments and debt sustainability, and further exposing the structural weaknesses of our economy.
We are in a crisis, I do not exaggerate when I say so. I cannot find an example in history when so many malevolent forces have come together at the same time. But, as we have shown in other circumstances, we shall turn this crisis into an opportunity to resolve not just the short-term, urgent problems, but the long-term structural problems that have bedeviled our economy.
I urge us all to see the decision to go to the International Monetary Fund in this light. We have gone to the Fund to repair, in the short term, our public finances, and restore our balance of payments, whilst we continue to work on the medium to long-term structural changes that are at the heart of our goal of constructing a resilient, robust Ghanaian economy, and building a Ghana Beyond Aid.
I am able to report to you, my fellow Ghanaians, that the negotiations to secure a strong IMF Programme, which will support the implementation of our Post COVID-19 Programme for Economic Growth and additional funding to support the 2023 Budget and development programme, are at advanced stages, and are going well.
We are determined to secure these arrangements quickly to bring back confidence and relief to Ghanaians. We are working towards reaching a deal with the IMF by the end of the year. This will give further credence to the measures Government is taking to stabilize and grow the economy, as well as shore up our currency.
I know that the increasing cost of living is the number one concern for all of us. It is driven by fast escalating fuel prices at the pumps, which is caused by high crude oil prices on the world market and our depreciated currency. I know that this is putting intolerable pressure on families and businesses. I know that people are being driven to make choices they should not have to make, and I know that it has led to the devaluation of capital of traders and painfully accumulated savings. Furthermore, Government is working to secure reliable and regular sources of affordable petroleum products for the Ghanaian market. It is expected that this arrangement, when successful, coupled with a stable currency will halt the escalation of fuel prices and bring relief to us all.
I hear from the market queens also that another factor fueling the high prices is the high margins that some traders are slapping on goods, for fear of future higher costs. I say to our traders, we are all in this together. Please let us be measured in the margins we seek. I have great respect and admiration for the ingenuity and hard work of our traders, especially those that take on the distribution of foodstuffs around the country, and I would hesitate to join in calling them names. I do make a heartfelt appeal that we all keep an eye out for the greater good, and not try to make the utmost profits out of the current difficulties.
In language that every market woman and, indeed, every trader in our country understands, let me say that the basic problem we face is that we are not making as much money as we need to spend, and what little money we do make is going to pay for the debts we have contracted to fund the development projects we must have. Not enough of us are paying our taxes, not enough of us are producing to generate the revenues that we need.
Nevertheless, my ambitions for Ghana remain high. All our children should be educated and trained with skills that will enable us be competitive in the world. We need to close rapidly the infrastructure gap, we need to build a world-class healthcare system, and we need to build confidence in ourselves to make ours the happy and prosperous place it deserves to be.
I believe we can and we will find the means to achieve these goals, even if the immediate measures we have to take are painful.
At the just ended Cabinet Retreat at Peduase Lodge, my government agreed on the framework for the Post COVID-19 Programme for Economic Growth and the IMF support for its implementation, as well as the work being done by the Ministry of Finance in preparation for the 2023 budget. At the Cabinet Retreat, we took some firm decisions that should put us on the path that will take our nation out of the current economic difficulties. Let me try and give you an outline of the main decisions without getting into the technical language that baffles many of us.
To restore and sustain debt sustainability, we plan to reduce our total public debt to GDP ratio to some fifty-five percent (55%) in present value terms by 2028, with the servicing of our external debt pegged at not more than eighteen percent (18%) of our annual revenue also by 2028.
We are committed to improving the revenue collection effort, from the current tax-revenue to GDP ratio of thirteen (13%) to between eighteen and twenty percent (18-20%), to be competitive with our peers in the West Africa Region. The GRA is rolling out an extensive set of measures to support this enhanced revenue mobilisation. All of us must do our patriotic duty, and support the GRA in this exercise.
We are aiming to restore and sustain macroeconomic stability within the next three (3) to six (6) years, with a focus on ensuring debt sustainability to promote durable and inclusive growth while protecting the poor.
We have decided to review the reforms in the energy sector, capping of statutory funds, implementation of the exemptions Act and a new property rate regime. We have decided also to continue with the policy of thirty percent (30%) cut in the salaries of political office holders including the President, Vice President, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, MMDCEs, and SOE appointees in 2023, just as we will continue with the thirty percent (30%) cut in discretionary expenditures of Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
My fellow Ghanaians, the success of our efforts at diversifying the structure of the Ghanaian economy from an import-based one to a value-added exporting one is what will, in the long term, help strengthen our economy. We are making some progress with the 1D1F but our current situation requires that we take some more stringent measures to discourage the importation of goods that we can and do produce here.
To this end, we will review the standards required for imports into the country, prioritise the imports, as well as review the management of our foreign exchange reserves, in relation to imports of products such as rice, poultry, vegetable oil, tooth picks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water and ceramic tiles, and others which, with intensified government support and that of the banking sector, can be manufactured and produced in sufficient quantities in Ghana. Government will, in May 2023, that is six (6) months from now, review the situation. We must, as a matter of urgent national security, reduce our dependence on imported goods, and enhance our self-reliance, as demanded by our overarching goal of creating a Ghana Beyond Aid.
Much as we believe in free trade, we must work to ensure that the majority of goods in our shops and market places are those we produce and grow here in Ghana. That is why we have to support our farmers and domestic industries, including those created under the 1-District-1-Factory initiative, to help reduce our dependence on imports, and allow us the opportunity to export more and more of our products, and guarantee a stable currency that will present a high level of predictability for citizens and the business community. Exports, not imports, must be our mantra! Accra, after all, hosts the headquarters of the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Fellow Ghanaians, as the French would say, l’argent n’aime pas le bruit, to wit, money does not like noise, sika mpɛ dede. Where there is chaos, where there is noise, where there is unrest, you will not find money. If you talk down your money, it will go down. If you allow some unidentifiable person to talk down your money, it will go down.
The recent turbulence on the financial markets was caused by low inflows of foreign exchange, and was made worse in the last two to three weeks, in particular, by the activities of speculators and the Black Market. An anonymous two-minute audio message on a WhatsApp platform predicting a so-called haircut on Government bonds sent all of us into banks and forex bureaus to dump our cedis, and, before we knew it, the cedi had depreciated further. All of us can play a part in helping to strengthen the cedi by having confidence in the currency, and avoiding speculation. Let us keep our cedi as the good store of value it is. To those who make it a habit of publishing falsehoods, which result in panic in the system, I say to them that the relevant state agencies will act against such persons.
Indeed, some steps have been taken to restore order in the forex markets and we are already beginning to see some calm returning. We will not relent until order is completely restored. The following actions have been taken thus far:
1) enhanced supervisory action by the Bank of Ghana in the forex bureau markets and the black market to flush out illegal operators, as well as ensuring that those permitted to operate legally abide by the market rules. Already some forex bureaus have had their licenses revoked, and this exercise will continue until complete order is restored in the sector;
2) Fresh inflows of dollars are providing liquidity to the foreign exchange market, and addressing the pipeline demand;
3) the Bank of Ghana has given its full commitment to the commercial banks to provide liquidity to ensure the wheels of the economy continue to run in a stabilized manner, till the IMF Programme kicks in and the financing assurances expected from other partners also come in;
4) Government is working with the Bank of Ghana and the oil producing and mining companies to introduce a new legal and regulatory framework to ensure that all foreign exchange earned from operations in Ghana are, initially, paid to banks domiciled in Ghana to help boost the domestic foreign exchange market; and
5) the Bank of Ghana will enhance its gold purchase programme.
I am confident that these immediate measures designed to change the structure of our balance of payment flows, sanitise the foreign exchange market to ensure that the banks and forex bureaus operate along international best practices, together with strengthened supervision, will go a long way to sanitize our foreign exchange market, and make it more resilient against external vulnerabilities going forward.
Over the course of this week, I have held several fruitful engagements with the Trades Union Congress and Organised Labour, the Ghana Employers’ Association, the Association of Ghana Industries, the Ghana Association of Banks, the Private Enterprise Federation, the Association of Forex Bureau Operators, the Association of Market Queens and Women, all of whom represent important stakeholders of the Ghanaian economy. They expressed their concerns and proposed solutions on how best to solve our problems. I have been encouraged by the enthusiasm of these interest groups to help Government address these challenges, and I intend to continue these engagements with other groups.
I also want to assure all Ghanaians that no individual or institutional investor, including pension funds, in Government treasury bills or instruments will lose their money, as a result of our ongoing IMF negotiations. There will be no “haircuts”, so I urge all of you to ignore the false rumours, just as, in the banking sector clean-up, Government ensured that the 4.6 million depositors affected by the exercise did not lose their deposits.
Anuanom, menim sɛɛ asetenamu ayɛ din. Nanso, ma obiaa empa aba, monkͻso enya gyidie ɛwͻ mabam mu. Nhyehyɛ yɛ aa ɛtumi maa Free SHS ɛni 1-District-1-Factory ɛbaa mu nu; nhyehyɛ yɛ aa ɛboaa ma yetumi pam corona yariɛ no efri oman ni mu; saa ɛnso na maban ɛ toto niemayie saa mereyi ama ahotͻ aba oman nimu, efri sɛɛ mewͻ gydie sɛɛ ɛko no yɛ Awurade Nyankopͻn ni ko.
Anyɛmimɛi, mile akɛ nibii ewa, shi nyɛ ka shia gbeye. Nyɛ yaanͻ ni nyɛ naa hemͻ kɛ yeli akɛ gbɛjianͻto ni hani free SHS ba min, gbɛjia nͻto ni hani 1-District-1-Factory ba min, gbɛjianͻto ni hani wͻ nyɛ wͻ shwe Corona hela kɛshi wͻ man nɛ min; nakai nͻͻ ni mi amlalo ba to gbɛjianͻ koni hejͻlɛ aba maa min, ejaakɛ, miyɛ hemͻ kɛ yeli ak3, ta, Nyͻnmͻ ta lɛ ni.
My government has always been cognisant of the importance of implementing policies and social interventions to relieve Ghanaians of hardships. It is for this reason that over the first five (5) years in office government reduced electricity tariffs cumulatively by 10.9%, we provided free water and electricity as well as reduced tariffs for the entire population during a whole year of the COVID-19 pandemic; we increased the share of the District Assemblies Common Fund to persons with disabilities by 50%; we exempted Kayayei from market tolls; we expanded the LEAP by one hundred and fifty thousand (150,000) beneficiaries; we expanded School Feeding from 1.6 million children to 2.1 million children; we restored teacher and nursing training allowances; we absorbed the cost of BECE and WASSCE exam registrations for parents; no guarantor is now required to obtain student loans. The Ghanacard is sufficient; and we have implemented free TVET as well as free senior high school education.
It is obvious, fellow Ghanaians, that you have a government that cares. We are determined to restore stability to the economy, and provide relief. We are all in this together, and I am asking for your support to rescue Ghana from the throes of this economic crisis.
I have total confidence in our ability to work our way out of our current difficulties. We are not afraid of hard work. We will triumph, as we have triumphed many times before. Let us unite, and rally around our Republic, its institutions and its democratic values, and insist that, under God, we will emerge victorious from our current difficulties. For this too shall pass, as the Battle is the Lord’s.
I will be coming regularly to keep you updated about the measures your government is making to move our country forward, and tackle our economic challenges.
God bless us all and our homeland Ghana, and make her great and strong.
I thank you for your attention, and have a good evening.
At the height of the Covid-19 outbreak, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo made a widely praised declaration that the administration knew how to revive the economy. He has now clarified that this statement was not meant in jest.
President Akufo-Addo mentioned the economy’s development trajectory despite the pandemic in his speech on the economy on October 30.
Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which further exacerbated the negative effects of Covid-19 on the economy, he claimed that the economy increased at a pace of 7%.
“We could all see in real-time the devastation that was being wreaked on economies during the pandemic, but I doubt that anyone imagined the extent of the damage. Our economy here in Ghana, like many, many others around the globe, was thrown into turmoil.
“When I said, at the height of the COVID pandemic, that we knew what to do to bring the economy back to life, but not how to bring people back to life, it was not said in jest. We had done it before, and we were on course to doing it again. Ghana’s economy grew by a remarkable 5.4% in 2021, signifying a strong recovery from the 0.5% growth recorded the previous year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In fact, in the last quarter of 2021, our economy grew at seven percent (7%), only for the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the first quarter of this year to aggravate the effects of COVID-19 and plunge the global economy into even greater turmoil from which it has not yet recovered,” he said
“We know how to bring the economy back to life. What we do not know is how to bring people back to life,” he said.
The statement by the president won him plaudits from world leaders and heads of relevant agencies and non-governmental organizations.
In the midst of economic turmoil, with many Ghanaians reeling under economic hardship, they have asked the president to actualize his statement by restoring the economy.
By the end of March 2020, Ghana’s public debt was 236 billion dollars.
The economist admitted that it might be difficult for us to refrain from borrowing in the COVID-19 competition that we are considering.
He stated, “At the moment, we have a 51% foreign debt load compared to a 49% domestic debt load, and it occasionally depends on the currency we borrow.”
Managers of Ghana’s economy cannot run away from borrowing due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Economist with the Institute of Chartered Economists Gideon Amissah has indicated.
In 2018, the national debt of Ghana amounted to approximately 59.29 percent of the GDP. A figure that currently stands at over 65%.
The move has seen backlash from the minority who claim the minister did not give detailed expenditure for 2020 coupled with what they called excessive borrowing.
But Mr. Amissah contends that due to the pandemic, Ghana cannot do without borrowing even as the country’s debt stock hits ¢236bilion.
Managers of Ghana’s economy cannot run away from borrowing due to the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, Economist with the Institute of Chartered Economists Gideon Amissah has indicated.
In 2018, the national debt of Ghana amounted to approximately 59.29 percent of the GDP. A figure that currently stands at over 65%.
The move has seen backlash from the minority who claim the minister did not give detailed expenditure for 2020 coupled with what they called excessive borrowing.
But Mr. Amissah contends that due to the pandemic, Ghana cannot do without borrowing even as the country’s debt stock hits about ¢236bilion ending March this year.
Speaking on the Morning Starr in response to the Finance Minister’s speech, Mr. Amissah said: “I may have to say that within the contest we are looking at this, that’s COVID-19, it will be difficult for us not to borrow.”
He noted, “currently, we are doing 51% external debt as against 49% internal debt, and sometimes it has to do with the currency we borrow.”
He described the situation as “more or less like a rat race because you have to pay the debt you owe and since you don’t have money to pay, you have to go and borrow and also finance our deficit.”
“The call must still be the appropriate way where the money will not land in the few people’s pockets but will land in the economy and reflect in the lives of the people,” he added.
236 billion ending March this year
Speaking on the Morning Starr in response to the Finance Minister’s speech, Mr. Amissah said: “I may have to say that within the contest we are looking at this, that’s COVID-19, it will be difficult for us not to borrow.”
He noted, “Currently, we are doing 51% external debt as against 49% internal debt, and sometimes it has to do with the currency we borrow.”
He described the situation as “more or less like a rat race because you have to pay the debt you owe, and since you don’t have money to pay, you have to go and borrow and also finance our deficit.”
“The call must still be the appropriate way where the money will not land in the few people’s pockets but will land in the economy and reflect in the lives of the people,” he added.
Daniel Mckorley, the president and chief executive officer of the McDan Group of Companies, has urged business people in the nation to be resolute and make the most of the current macroeconomic circumstances to lay the groundwork for enterprises that can grow beyond national borders by utilizing the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The ability to look beyond the boundaries of this country should be their goal this time around, he claims, just as businesses were able to innovate and adopt technology to survive the shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. However, this time around, entrepreneurs must show the same tenacity to survive.
“As I always say, in adversities like these real leaders emerge; stronger and more resilient countries are seen; and able countries take advantage to become the new economic force. And similarly, it is in times of adversities like this that innovative entrepreneurs emerge and become the world’s new game-changers.
It is not all doom and gloom; this is the time when Ghanaian entrepreneurs must take advantage of what is happening and launch products that will penetrate the AfCFTA. This is because it is in times like these that we see stronger businesses, and I believe this is the opportunity for vibrant, strong, young entrepreneurs to get ready and lead the fourth industrial revolution,” he said.
Dr. Mckorley further mentioned that his organisation is committed to promoting trade in the sub-region and has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the AfCFTA secretariat to provide logistics support for easy mobility of goods and services.
“My company’s partnership with AfCFTA will be a critical contributor to the transformation we want to see on the African continent. The agreement will spearhead industrial transformation and economic development, boost intra-Africa trade, and create employment.
“All businesses looking at exporting cargo should note the McDan Group of companies is here to facilitate that trade and bring growth to the economies of Africa,” he said.
He mentioned that unless the goods are able to move from one country to another, all the boardroom discussions and MoUs signed will be meaningless; hence, entrepreneurs must take advantage of the transportation logistics that his outfit is providing to ensure their goods reach all countries on the continent.
He made these remarks at the Ghana Economic Forum (GEF) 2022 – an annual event organised by the B&FT – on the theme ‘Building a robust and resilient economy through technology, finance, investment, trade and entrepreneurship’.
The AfCFTA secretariat has adopted a special instrument described as the Guided Trade Initiative (GTI), which has set the ball rolling for commercial trading to commence for the first seven countries to have met all requirements and expressed strong readiness.
Ghana is one of the first seven countries to start trading under this arrangement, and the McDan CEO believes that if entrepreneurs are able to think beyond the borders and take advantage of available logistical support they could be lead beneficiaries of the continental trade area.
The Government, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and World Bank have mostly blamed the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war for Ghana’s economic difficulty.
In a Saturday conversation on a local television channel, Mr. Martin Kpebu, a private legal practitioner, Mr. Jacob Osei Yeboah, and Dr. Abu Sakara Foster, the Convention People’s Party (CPP) Presidential Candidate for the 2012 elections, argued the nation required a consensus to overcome the difficulties.
He said: “Drastic situation requires drastic measures, and we need to call for a national meeting to build consensus on, which way to go. We must accept and admit that no one group of people in Ghana can solve the problems.”
“We have a crisis, and we must first contain it by accepting that it’s a collective work to solve the situation. We must come together, build consensus, face reality and come up with long term plan,” Dr Abu Sakara, emphasised.
He called for a fundamental reform to the constitution to bind Governments to go by the country’s long-term national development plan for inclusive and sustainable growth.
On governance, he called for a shift from the attitude of “borrowing to spend” to having a prudent and fiscally disciplined economy that invested in agriculture and manufacturing.
“We must grow the economy through agriculture and manufacturing and adjust trade and investment policies into these areas. There must be an underlying conveyor belt to transition small-scale farms and agribusinesses into medium-scale and large-scale in the long term,” the Agronomist said.
Also speaking on reforms, Mr Yeboah said the time had come for Ghana to make changes to the 1992 constitution, which he noted had some defects that Government in power exploited to their advantage.
“We need to change the constitution, until the constitution is changed, we can’t develop. The NDC (National Democratic Congress) and the NPP (New Patriotic Party) are benefiting from the defects in the Constitution,” he said.
Mr Kpebu called for a constitutional process to remove both President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his Vice, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, from office, stressing that they had failed to fulfil the Article 36 requirement of the constitution.
Article 36 (1) states that: “The State shall take all necessary action to ensure that the national economy is managed in such a manner as to maximize the rate of economic development and to secure the maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every person in Ghana and to provide adequate means of livelihood and suitable employment and public assistance to the needy.”
Mr Kpebu said: “The President and the Vice President should go, and there should be a buffer of experts constituted to support the Speaker of Parliament who will then take over as President because he is from the other side of the political divide.”
“We need a Kumepreko demonstration and then Parliament takes up from there. One third of MPs (Member of Parliament), let’s make the efforts to remove Akufo-Addo from office otherwise it will be an indictment on all of us,” the private legal practitioner said.
The Government has admitted to the economic hardship and confident that measures taken and the ongoing negotiations with the IMF for a loan support programme would help alleviate the sufferings of Ghanaians in the shortest time possible.
The Authority has been fighting against unlawful lottery activities for a while, and the current Director-General, Sammi Awuku, has decided to tighten up the crackdown with additional measures.
The NLA established its charitable arm, the “Good Causes Foundation,” over a year ago. Among its objectives is to create, carry out, and uphold an integrated action plan.
At this year’s World Lottery Summit held at Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the association charged member countries to do more on responsible gaming and good causes.
The WLA has, therefore, asked member countries to promote these values and further tasked lottery bodies in the world to take a firm stance on illegal lottery activities which it said caused loss of revenue of a total of 1.8 trillion dollars in 2022 alone.
Ghana is being represented at WLA Summit by the NLA boss, Sammy Awuku and Dr. George Gyamfi-Osew, the immediate past Director of Operations of the Authority.Lottery
The World Lottery Authority (WLA) holds its meetings every two years but could not hold the 2020 event after the Buenos Aires, Argentina meeting held in November 2018, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The meetings among other things, take stock of the various member countries’ programs, regional reports, suspension and expulsions from the Association.
This year’s summit held in Vancouver, British Columbia was attended by over 1,000 delegates from the various continents.
Suspension of Russia and Belarus
This year, two lottery bodies from Russia and Belarus respectively, were suspended by the organization for their government’s role in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict which has left many dead.
According to WLA President, Rebecca Paul said since the two countries failed to prove that revenues generated were not being used to fund the war hence they must face the consequences.
The body of nations with over 100 lottery bodies approved the proposal by majority decision with only two members voting ‘No’ and one abstention.
Meanwhile, WLA Members have re-elected the Rebecca Paul execs to serve another four-year term.
Younnes El Mechrafi, who is currently the General Secretary of the African Lottery Association, has also been elected as an Executive Member of the WLA.
Paris, capital of France will host the next World Lottery Summit in 2024.
The worrying study has forced the worldwide organization to develop tight guidelines so that it can put more of its attention in the years to come on responsible gaming and charitable purposes.
The association urged member nations to do more to promote responsible gaming and charitable purposes at this year’s World Lottery Summit, which took place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
The WLA has, therefore, asked member countries to promote these values and further tasked lottery bodies in the world to take a firm stance on responsible gaming.
Ghana’s National Lottery Authority (NLA) itself has been battling with illegal lottery activities for some time now and determined to increase its clamp down with new measures put in place by the current Director-General.
The NLA over a year ago, launched its charity arm the ‘Good Causes Foundation’, which aims among others, to develop, implement and maintain an integrated action plan.
This is based on four main pillars – education, health, youth and sports development as well as culture.
Ghana at WLA
Ghana is being represented at WLA Summit by the NLA boss, Sammy Awuku and Dr. George Gyamfi-Osew, the immediate past Director of Operations of the Authority.Lottery
The World Lottery Authority (WLA) holds its meetings every two years but could not hold the 2020 event after the Buenos Aires, Argentina meeting held in November 2018, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The meetings among other things, take stock of the various member countries’ programs, regional reports, suspension and expulsions from the Association.
Again, it is also to consider new members who meet the criteria and to promote Responsible Gaming and Good Causes within the various Lottery Bodies..
This year’s summit held in Vancouver, British Columbia was attended by over 1,000 delegates from the various continents.
Suspension of Russia and Belarus
This year, two lottery bodies from Russia and Belarus respectively, were suspended by the organization for their government’s role in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict which has left many dead.
According to WLA President, Rebecca Paul said since the two countries failed to prove that revenues generated were not being used to fund the war hence they must face the consequences.
The body of nations with over 100 lottery bodies approved the proposal by majority decision with only two members voting ‘No’ and one abstention.
Meanwhile, WLA Members have re-elected the Rebecca Paul execs to serve another four-year term.
Younnes El Mechrafi, who is currently the General Secretary of the African Lottery Association, has also been elected as an Executive Member of the WLA.
Paris, capital of France will host the next World Lottery Summit in 2024.
Along with ensuring food security, the money will be utilized to try and lessen how Ghanaian agriculture will be affected by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The EU Office in Ghana underlined in a tweet that the funds will also “strengthen ongoing programming as well as EU’s planned support to the agriculture sector in Ghana.”
The full tweet read: “#TeamEurope announces €10 million support for #FoodSecurity and to help #mitigate the impact on agriculture in Ghana of Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine. Also to strengthen ongoing programme as well EU’s upcoming support to the agriculture sector in Ghana.”
The tweet was accompanied by two photos of the EU representative handing over a cheque titled: “EU SUPPORT TO FOOD SECURITY IN GHANA,” to the Deputy Minister of Finance, Abena Osei Asare.
The World Bank and International Monetary Fund, IMF, advanced different sums of money to the government to help mitigate the impact of the pandemic.
On the diplomatic front, Ghana has been one of the vocal African countries calling on Russia to stop its aggression on Ukraine. Ghana also voted YES in a UN resolution this week, condemning Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territories.
Dmytro Kuleba, Ukrainian Foreign Minister picked Accra as one of three stops on his African tour that was truncated after Russian bombardments.
Rich people in Nairobi are less affected by increased prices for products and services at a time when the rest of Kenyans are struggling with inflation.
Due to their higher discretionary earnings, those in the social class who spend more than Sh184,395 monthly have a stronger ability to withstand price increases.
However, the figure is a rise from 4.15 percent in 12 months to June 2021, pointing to a rise in the cost of living affecting all Kenyan households. President William Ruto campaigned on the platform of bringing down the cost of living in his first 100 days in office and reiterated his commitment to doing so when he took power last month.
But his administration is finding it difficult to fulfil the promise. Already the government has failed to subsidise food items like maize flour, leading to a rise in the price of a 2kg packet of the commodity to around Sh200 from Sh100 under a subsidy introduced by his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta.
Inflation soared to a 63-month high in September at 9.2 percent from 8.5 percent in August on higher fuel prices, shocks from food shortages and a depreciating shilling.
The inflation surge occurred against the backdrop of the Russia- Ukraine war and Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. The difference in inflation levels among Nairobi’s income segments is linked to their different consumption habits. The rich spend most of their income on transport and the middle class on utilities and rent.
Food takes the bulk of the poor’s budget. The increase in the prices of food items surpassed that of fuel in January this year, with food inflation hitting 15.5 percent in September compared to fuel inflation at 11.7 percent.
The prices of a three-bedroom house rose by 5.6 percent in 12 months to September compared to a similar period in 2021 while those of furnishing and household equipment rose 10.7 percent.
Middle-class homes spend the bulk of their monthly income — over 23.6 percent — on housing and utilities, followed by food at 22 percent, exposing them to rising costs.
The lower-income residents in Nairobi and in rural areas will be hit hardest by inflationary pressures that eroded the country’s real wage by negative 3.83 percent last year, down from negative 0.59 percent in 2020.
People in rural areas are hurting the most from the jump in food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation —whose weight in the shopping basket is nearly a third
at 32.9 percent — which rose to 15.25 percent in July.
The International Monetary Fund expects 2023 to be a challenging year for the banking industry in emerging nations like Ghana.
If strict steps are not taken to address the global fiscal situation, some economies could experience a recession, according to the Fund’s Global Financial Stability Report.
According to the research, the development will raise the risks to financial stability, and the balance of those risks is expected to lean downward.
It further pointed out that despite the global banking sector being able to withstand certain pressures for a period, a global bank test undertaken by the IMF shows that the reserve buffers of some banks may not be enough heading into 2023.
The IMF report explained this can be attributed to an abrupt and sharp tightening of global financial conditions which may force several economies into recession coupled with soaring inflationary pressures which could significantly impact capital requirements.
Meanwhile, in Ghana, the central bank has embarked on a number of policy rate hikes to deal with inflationary pressures which has been soaring in months.
The Bank of Ghana, BoG, on October 7, 2022 hiked the policy rate by 250 basis points from 22 percent to 24.5 percent – a move that is likely to impact the cost of lending.
The country in September also recorded an inflation rate of 37.2 percent, making it the highest in about 20 years.
Ghana has since July 2022 engaged the IMF for economic support programme to address the current economic challenges which have impacted the performance of the local currency, rising inflation figures and among others.
Dr Charity Binka, Executive Director, Women, Media, and Change (WOMEC), says girls must be at the forefront of change initiatives to ensure their inclusion in decision-making.
She said while investments in girls continued to be scarce, the COVID-19 pandemic and other global crises had negatively affected them, making life harder for them.
She said girls faced unknown challenges, including threats to their physical, and mental well-being, access to safety and life without violence.
Dr Binka stated in a speech read on her behalf by Ms Dulcie Delali Attipoe, WOMEC Programmes Coordinator, at an empowerment programme to commemorate the 2022 International Girl Child Day at Kpone.
The WOMEC International Girl Day commemoration was used to highlight the GTP Turning Point Programme Mentorship and Leadership Forum and adopted the global theme “Our time is now – our rights, our future.” The event was used to equip girls to rise above the status quo.
The beneficiaries were selected from Kpone Methodist Basic School, Casmin International School, Kpone Presby Basic School, and KKMA Basic school.
Dr Binka mentioned that through the interventions of WOMEC over the years, about 500 girls in the Kpone-Katamanso Municipality have been empowered to fight for their rights.
She noted that empowerment, however, was a process that must be nurtured by the girls themselves.
Dr Binka urged the girls to share the information with their peers who were not privileged to be part of the activities.
“As we mark the International Day of the Girl Child, WOMEC adds its voice to the call from UNICEF for more resources, and action to support adolescent girls’ leadership,” she said.
Ms Thecla Wricketts, Lawyer and facilitator at the programme, said the girl child was the greatest asset the world had for the progress of tomorrow hence the need to unyoke them to become who God created them to be.
She said it was time parents prioritized the needs of their children and stir them up to achieve their goals.
She urged the girls to rise above all odds to become vital instruments of development in the country.
Ms Josephine Eva Arthur, Zonal Head, Retail Banking, Access Bank, who did a presentation on ” Managing your finances for a better future” urged girls to inculcate the habit of saving to be financially independent.
According to the Fund, pandemic-related factors have been particularly significant in China, where a recession in the second quarter slowed down global activity.
“Temporary lockdowns in Shanghai and elsewhere due to Covid-19 outbreaks have weakened local demand, which is reflected in the new-orders component of the purchasing managers’ index. Other data corroborate this picture of slowing economic activity in China. Manufacturing capacity utilization in the country, for example, slowed to less than 76% in the second quarter”, it said in its latest World Economic Outlook.
Global growth: near-term slowdown
The IMF also predicted a slowdown in global growth, from 6.0% in 2021 to 3.2% in 2022 and 2.7% in 2023.
This prognosis for the global economy, it said, is far below average – global economic growth averaged 3.6% during 2000–21 and the same during 1970–2021.
For most economies, the Fund pointed out that the outlook is significantly weaker than projected six months ago, in the April 2022 World Economic Outlook.
Forecasts are weaker than expected for 143 economies (accounting for 92% of world GDP) for 2023.
The forecast for 2023 is the weakest since the 2.5% growth rate seen during the global slowdown of 2001— with the exception of those during the global financial and Covid-19 crises.
“The world’s three largest economies – China, the euro area, and the US — will slow significantly in 2022 and 2023, with downgrades compared with the predictions made in April [2022] and, in most cases, July [2022]. The negative revisions reflect the materialisation of downside risks highlighted in the April 2022 WEO [World Economic Outlook] and July 2022 WEO Update and discussed at length in the previous section: tightening global financial conditions in most regions, associated with expectations of steeper interest rate hikes by major central banks to fight inflation”.
The IMF however said a decline in global GDP or in global GDP per capita—which often happens when there is a global recession—is not currently in the baseline forecast.
However, a contraction in real GDP lasting for at least two consecutive quarters (which some economists refer to as a “technical recession”) is seen at some point during 2022–23 in about 43% of economies with quarterly data forecasts (31 out of 72 economies), amounting to more than one-third of world GDP.
Moreover, projections for global growth on a fourth-quarter-over-fourth-quarter basis are pointing to a significant weakening, to only 1.7% in 2022 and to 2.7% in 2023.
The IMF added that negative revisions are more pronounced for advanced economies than those for emerging market and developing economies, for which differing exposures to the underlying developments imply a more mixed outlook.
Overall, it said the outlook is one of increasing growth divergence between advanced and emerging market and developing economies.
Faith Leaders in Africa are confident the Continent will bounce back strongly from the current economic hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.
The Leaders, at the end of a three-day strategic meeting on Africa Inclusive Economic Recovery campaign in Accra, expressed optimism that the Continent would surmount the economic hardships, having endured similar ones in times past.
They said improved governance and enhanced support to Finance Ministers by Heads of States, increased domestic revenue mobilsation and judicious use of Special Drawing Rights (SDR), would speed up the Continent’s recovery.
Most Reverend Gabriel Justice Yaw Anokye, the President of Caritas Africa, at a press briefing at the end of the three-day meeting, said the Leaders were hopeful that, “Africa will succeed.”
He said that would require strategic actions and policies to protect the most vulnerable and restore prosperity against budget shortfalls and unpayable debts.
Rev Anokye said it had become urgent for the G7 to spearhead processes that would, “remove crushing burdens of unpayable debts, ” particularly through the G20 debt relief initiative.
While at that, African Heads of States, he said, must implement policies for a lasting exit from debt crises by ensuring responsible lending and borrowing rules and standards, including debt contract disclosure and authorisation frameworks.
He also said: “We join other voices in calling on rich countries to rechannel a significant portion of their stock of more than $400 billion in Special Drawing Rights to African countries.”
“Recipients, on the other hand, should commit to transparent and participatory processes to determine the destination of received SDRs. ”
He also asked African Heads of States to improve governance to enhance confidence of citizens in domestic revenue mobilisation and ensure transparency, inclusion and accountability for public and natural resources.
Mr Samuel Zan Akologo, the Campaign Manager, Africa Inclusive Economic Recovery, Caritas Africa, told the Ghana News Agency that: “For us as people of faith, we’re always people of hope, and we’re retaining that hope.”
He said: “Anybody who has been in Africa would attest that we’ve improved. We’ve seen the difficulties that Ghana has for example gone through, including the 83 hunger. The Continent has also witnessed military takeovers and dictatorial processes, but we’re making progress.”
“The African Union (AU) has reformed and made a lot of international policies that would guide regional development, so, we remain positive and believe that Africa is rising, and we’ll overcome the challenges.” Mr Akologo said.
The COVID-19 outbreak prevented travel for more than two years, but today India’s tourist and hospitality sectors are pretty hopeful. Journalist Rubina A. Khan, a freelance, on the roots of optimism.
Nearly 3% of India’s GDP and roughly 100 million jobs were created by tourism in 2019.
But the sector was severely hit in India – like in other countries – when the pandemic struck. Only 2.74 million foreign tourists visited India in 2020 compared with 10.93 million the year before, official data shows.
While the number of foreign visitors is still nowhere close to pre-pandemic levels, travel company operators and hotel industry executives say an upsurge in domestic tourists is making them more upbeat.
After two years of being cooped up inside, Indians are now travelling with a vengeance – ‘revenge travel’, as the phenomenon is called. And many, experts say, now prefer to travel within the country instead of flying to more expensive destinations abroad.
The industry is also benefiting from new trends borne of the pandemic such as micro-holidays and workcations.
Deep Kalra, the founder, and chairman of the travel website Make My Trip, says the sector started seeing an upturn in the last quarter of 2020, and has been consistently recovering ever since
Experts say the pandemic offered Indians an opportunity to explore their own country.
India has always been a popular tourist destination. From historic forts and stunning palaces to dense jungles, there’s no shortage of options for visitors.
But with international travel disrupted for months, more and more Indians became open to the idea ofvacationing within the country, says Vishal Suri, the managing director of travel company SOTC.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, The Taj Mahal is one of the biggest tourist attractions in India
“The pandemic has given Indians a new-found appreciation for the outdoors,” Mr Suri says.
He adds that there has been an uptick in demand for unexplored destinations – people are seeking ways to combine pilgrimages and spiritual trips with experiencing local food, cultural trails and adventure.
The pandemic also generated new trends such as staycations and workcations – combining remote working with vacations.
“Travellers are now extremely comfortable with booking homestays that offer exclusivity, privacy, and the comfort of a home away from home,” says Pradeep Shetty, a senior official at the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations Of India (FHRAI).
Mr Kalra from Make My Trip agrees – he says that people have warmed up to the idea of travelling within India whenever possible.
“Even the travel frequency has changed and become more regular. The annual break has now turned into micro-holidays with people increasingly taking more breaks in the form of multiple weekend getaways and seasonal holiday breaks,” he says.
Impact on the hospitality sector
This shift has turned out to be a revenue-spinner for hotels in India, as people are now willing to use the money they would normally reserve for their international vacations on better facilities domestically.
Some luxury hotels dropped their prices at intervals in the pandemic, leading to a spike in bookings and short-term revenues.
Puneet Chhatwal, the COO of The Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL)– India’s largest hospitality company which operates the Taj chain of luxury hotels – says that after each successive Covid wave, the recovery was “stronger and quicker”.
“The ICHL’s occupancy figures today exceed the pre-pandemic levels – a resurgence that is primarily fuelled by domestic tourism,” he adds.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, The Taj in Mumbai is one of India’s most premium hotels
Raffles Udaipur – run by international hotel chain Raffles – is situated on a private island and opened in August 2021, just months after the devastating second wave of the pandemic in India.
But the hotel has seen a “healthy rate of occupancy” every month throughout its first year of operations in India, says Puneet Dhawan, the hotel’s senior vice-president for India and South Asia.
“While we have no pre-pandemic metric to compare to, we have observed a steady rise in the response to our property,” he adds.
Mr Dhawan says the hotel is gearing up for an even busier year ahead – starting with the tourist rush in winter and the upcoming wedding season.
Mr Kalra says there are other positive signs too, such as the resumption of corporate travel – a trend that is likely to increase in the coming quarters, aiding overall recovery for the travel industry.
Challenges
But despite the optimism, people in the industry say that domestic tourism alone cannot take the sector back to the pre-pandemic-level of growth.
In September, India’s tourism minister said that the government was working towards the all-round revival of the tourism sector.
But foreign arrivals continue to be dismal – data shows they dipped by 44.5% in 2021 compared with the year before.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, Experts say more and more people are willing to travel within India
“India has not released a single campaign inviting the world to us. What we need is a stellar marketing strategy that excites travellers enough to choose us, especially the 60 million people that used to travel to China and aren’t today,” says Dipak Deva, managing director of the Travel Corporation of India, one of India’s best-known travel agencies.
He adds that the government also needs to restore its e-visa facility – especially for countries such as the UK from where a large number of tourists visit India – as the current procedure is too cumbersome.
“With international travel now returning to the fore, we are confident that in a few quarters, international travel will also be able to recover completely.”
Nene Teidjahene Korabo IV, the Senior Asafoatse of the Shai Osudoku Traditional Area, has urged the youth of Manya Jorpanya in the Greater Accra Region to abstain from behaviors that might cause division in the community.
Even though Nene Korabo had worked for the advancement of his people, he claimed that only a small number of backwards-thinking individuals had promised to undo the hard-won progress made thus far.
Therefore, he appealed to the young to join him and his elders in eradicating these villains from the neighborhood and establishing Manya Jorpanya as the people of the Shai Osudoku Traditional Area’s glimmer of hope.
Making the call at the celebration of this year’s Ngmayem festival by the chiefs and people of Manya Jorpanya last Saturday, he said: “We have come from far and as a people with one destiny and one destination, we ought to be seen working as a team to achieve the same purpose.”
He further urged the youth to uphold the peace they were enjoying in the area and emulate such a gesture from their leader.
The festival was also used to mark the 24th anniversary of his enstoolment as the chief of the area.
The festival, which is celebrated annually, is aimed at harnessing great strides, bridging the gap between the rich and the poor, counting the achievements and ensuring ultimate peace among indigenes of Manya Jorpanya and surrounding communities.
The occasion was on the theme: “Upholding our cultural values after the COVID-19 Pandemic”.
Peace
Addressing a durbar to climax the festival, Nene Korabo commended the people of Manya Jorpanya for the discipline, dedication and exhibition of peace among themselves, which had become the subject of discussion by neighbouring communities.
“As a chief, who has the people at heart, I have made it my policy to uphold the principles and values of my forebears in high esteem and until each person is provided with basic amenities I will not rest,” he stated.
“In September each year, the chiefs, elders and the people of Manya Jorpanya ensure that we gather at a unique ground to share the achievements and put in place measures to keep us above and not below.
He said despite the challenges, much of his efforts were inspired by dedicated and dynamic family heads, subchiefs, queenmothers, opinion leaders and other citizens and he thanked them for their immense contributions towards the successful development in the area.
He appealed to residents of the area to rally behind their elders to make Manya Jorpanya a haven.
Commendation
Speaking on behalf of the District Chief Executive (DCE) of the Shai Osudoku Area, Fred Ofei Twum, the Presiding Member of the area, Noah Sobutey, stated that the achievements of Nene Korabo had received a commendation from across the traditional area and attributed this to his selflessness, dedication to his core mandate and his openness and readiness to listen to everyone.
He, therefore, urged the youth to remain resolute and optimistic as the district continued to find ways and means to reduce unemployment and, therefore, reduce poverty in the area and in Ghana.
Truthfulness
The Chief of Gomoa Dasum, Nana Obokomatta IX, said governance was a shared responsibility and as such even though traditional leaders had made frantic efforts to bring relief and development to their respective areas, it behoved politicians to be truthful and respect the views of the people.
According to the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, two out of every ten employment in the nation are now being created by the hospitality subsector.
The sub-sector, which ranks after cocoa and oil and gas in terms of the country’s overall productivity as assessed by the GDP, was also disclosed by the President.
According to the President, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a decline in the sector’s growth in 2020, as evidenced by a 75% drop in international tourist arrivals for that year and a 45% drop in 2021, but this year’s recovery of the sector was dependent on very strong initiatives by the government to boost growth.
At the opening of the Tema branch of the indigenous hotel range, Alisa Hotel, in Tema last Friday, President Akufo-Addo indicated that the government was a cheerleader for the private sector and would continue to introduce policy initiatives aimed at creating an enabling environment for the private sector to flourish.
The 52-bed hotel, an addition to the Alisa Hotels Group, now brings to three the group’s hotel offerings, having started with a small branch in Labone and then its signature facility at North Ridge, both in Accra.
President Akufo-Addo acknowledged the economic difficulties confronting the country and said in spite of the current difficulties, “we will continue to build a business friendly environment that will enhance entrepreneurship, a vital component of economic growth and development which has been globally embraced as an important driver of economic activity and transformation.”
To that end, the government would use tourism as an effective tool for economic transformation to create jobs and prosperity for the people, the President stated.
“That is why the government, with the support of international partners, is investing heavily in key tourism attractions which will in turn boost tourism arrivals this year and beyond,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo reiterated plans to build a state of the art tourism and hospitality training school in Accra, and stated that the $10million facility would serve West Africa and provide customer care training to operators in the hospitality value chain.
He emphasised that the development of the capacity of tourism players was critical to Ghana’s quest to be the best tourism destination in West Africa.
“When customers are happy and delighted they do not only stay longer in hotels but also spend more, hence our focus in the next 18 months is to exploit our culture, heritage, history, hospitality and beautiful natural scenery to attract tourists, fun lovers and leisure seekers to gain an experience in our country,” the President said.
The President pointed out that as part of a product improvement initiative, several tourist sites, including the Aburi Botanical Garden, the Yaa Asantewaa Memorial Museum and the Kente Museum in Kumasi, were being rehabilitated.
“This year alone, it is expected that some $25 million will be expended to upgrade some of our iconic sites, including the Elmina and Cape Coast Castles, the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, the Mole and Kakum National Parks and Cultural Museums in Yendi, Ejisu, Akropong and Ho under the Ghana Tourism Development Project supported by the World Bank,” President Akufo-Addo stated.
He commended management of the Alisa Group, particularly its Group Chairman, Kwame Ofosu Banfo for the investments and noted that the new facility and other associated investments were as a result of dedication, commitment and hard work which he said, would go to support the government’s vision to market the country as an exciting destination for leisure, conferences, sports, health, education and cultural tourism.
Training
The Deputy Minister of Tourism, Art and Culture, Mark Okraku Mantey, indicated that the ministry was determined to train about 2,000 people in the sector, particularly in the area of customer service.
So far, he said, about 800 people had undergone training aimed at improving service delivery which had been lacking in the sector.
Alisa
Alisa Tema has standard facilities such as conferencing halls, a swimming pool with cabbanas, a tennis court, gym, bars and restaurants, a sky bar which offered a scenic view of the Tema Township, among other facilities.
Mr Bamfo, said the defunct Meridian Hotel provided an inspiration for the Alisa Tema dream.
He said the company had grown significantly and succeeded in providing employment for over 750 persons as a group, with the Alisa range of hotels alone employing up to 500 people.
The hospitality industry, Mr Bamfo said, was a powerful generator of career opportunities.
“Ghana is no exception and the hospitality industry has great prospects in assisting the government to achieve one of its key agenda of employment creation,” Mr Bamfo said.
He also appealed to the government to offer some incentives to the industry in relation to access to cheaper credit to help boost operations in the industry and create more jobs for the youth, both skilled and unskilled.
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